The 80th Hunger Games
by BookAddictForLife
Summary: "We can't do this. One of us is going to die in these games, if not both of us," I say. It's silent for a moment, and then he slowly looks up at me. "Then let's live the life we have left. Let's make it last," he says. And I can't help but agree.
1. Chapter 1

Ok, I know everyone has one of these, but I'm new to fanfiction and thought I'd start with one of these stories. Sadly, We're pretending that Katniss and Peeta and the rebellion never happened. It's the 80th Hunger Games. Please send in ideas for tributes. Thanks! And may the odds be ever in your favor.

**Tribute form**

Name:

Gender:

Age:

District:

Personality:

Strengths:

Weaknesses(Something that can actually make you die):

Family/friends:

Backgound:

Token(if they have one):

Would they make an alliance?:

Are you Ok with me putting them in a romance?:

Other(Have I missed anything?):

**Optional**

Reaping outfit:

Chariot outfit:

Interview outfit:

Please be discriptive and submit only up to TWO characters. We want to give everyone a chance. This is Not first come first serve. I want good, descriptive characters that you took time on, unless you're entering a bloodbath winner will be drawn randomly from a hat. Also, I will be writing from the perspective of multiple tributes in first person. I have an idea for an arena that I think is really cool, so I hope you like it. You can still send in your own ideas for an arena, though, and if I really like it I might use it. Thanks again!


	2. Current List Of Tributes

**Current List Of Tributes**

District 1:

Male:

Female:

District 2:

Male:

Female:

District 3:

Male:

Female:

District 4:

Male:

Female:

District 5:

Male:

Female:

District 6:

Male:

Female:

District 7:

Male:

Female:

District 8:

Male:

Female:

District 9:

Male:

Female:

District 10:

Male:

Female:

District 11:

Male:Female: Aisling(ASH-ling) Hart (16) 

District 12:

Male: Lysander "Lyle" Llewellyn (16)

Female:

There are a lot of spots still open, as you can see, so please send in your tributes. Please, please, please! Thanks!


	3. Current List Of Tributes 2

**Current List Of Tributes 2**

District 1:

Male: Titus Bronze (17)

Female: Topaz Shine (17)

District 2:

Male:

Female:

District 3:

Male:

Female:

District 4:

Male: Jaze Finn (17)

Female: Kiwi Bolderdash (17)

District 5:

Male:

Female: Everbloom Montgomery (16)

District 6:

Male:

Female: Shayla Flint (14)

District 7:

Male:

Female:

District 8:

Male:

Female:

District 9:

Male: Kesar Henry (17)

Female: Jayla Breeze

District 10:

Male:

Female:

District 11:

Male:

Female: Aisling(ASH-ling) Hart (16) 

District 12:

Male: Lysander "Lyle" Llewellyn (16)

Female:

I need younger tributes please! And not so many 17 year olds. I've already got five of them. Thanks! 14 spots left!


	4. Current List Of Tributes 3

**Current List Of Tributes 3**

District 1:

Male: Titus Bronze (17)

Female: Topaz Shine (17)

District 2:

Male: Emory Blackwell (17)

Female: Gemma Barnes (13)

District 3:

Male:

Female:

District 4:

Male: Jaze Finn (17)

Female: Kiwi Bolderdash (17)

District 5:

Male: Adrian Alexander Martinez (16)

Female: Everbloom Montgomery (16)

District 6:

Male:

Female: Shayla Flint (14)

District 7:

Male:

Female: Auden Grace (12)

District 8:

Male:

Female: Trinity Bronze (15)

District 9:

Male: Kesar Henry (17)

Female: Jayla Breeze

District 10:

Male: Rowlan Grey (15)

Female:

District 11:

Male:

Female: Aisling(ASH-ling) Hart (16) 

District 12:

Male: Lysander "Lyle" Llewellyn (16)

Female: Twerre Nightngale (15)

I need younger tributes please! And more male tributes! 7 spots left! Also, send in arena ideas. I'll post a poll on my profile once I get enough ideas. Thanks guys(and gals)!


	5. Tribute List 4

**Hey everyone! 2 spaces left! D8 M and D11 M still open. Check out my profile and visit the poll to choose which arena I should use. Also, if you want you can review me telling me who you want your character to make an alliance with, or be in a relationship with. Thanks to everyone who's reviewed. I really appreciate it! (Almost forgot! I need younger tributes! I won't use anyone over 14)**

**Current List Of Tributes 3**

District 1:

Male: Titus Bronze (17)

Female: Topaz Shine (17)

District 2:

Male: Emory Blackwell (17)

Female: Gemma Barnes (13)

District 3:

Male: Damon Ledger (16)

Female: Vanadinite "Vanny" Reeves (15)

District 4:

Male: Jaze Finn (17)

Female: Kiwi Bolderdash (17)

District 5:

Male: Adrian Alexander Martinez (16)

Female: Everbloom Montgomery (16)

District 6:

Male: Carlo Severino (18)

Female: Shayla Flint (14)

District 7:

Male: Rai Ornel (14)

Female: Auden Grace (12)

District 8:

Male:

Female: Trinity Brone (15)

District 9:

Male: Kesar Henry (17)

Female: Jayla Breeze

District 10:

Male: Rowlan Grey (15)

Female: Sayre Margrave (16) p.s. I'm sorry to angel-unknown for moving your character to D10, but D12 was already taken, and I really liked your tribute and wanted to put her somewhere. Sorry!

District 11:

Male:

Female: Aisling(ASH-ling) Hart (16) 

District 12:

Male: Lysander "Lyle" Llewellyn (16)

Female: Twerre Nightngale (15)


	6. Final Tribute List

**Here are the tributes! Congrats to those who made it, and sorry to those who didn't. The first story chapter should be up in a few days. Please continue to vote for the arena I use on my profile. Thanks everyone! Oh! I almost forgot! Throughout the games, you will be able to sponsor tributes. They can't be your own tribute, and they have to have earned it, or need an item. I'll have a new poll up on my profile once the story starts, and once I know which arena I'm using. So please visit my poll and vote for the arena and to sponsor tributes.**

**Current List Of Tributes 3**

District 1:

Male: Titus Bronze (17)

Female: Topaz Shine (17)

District 2:

Male: Emory Blackwell (17)

Female: Gemma Barnes (13)

District 3:

Male: Damon Ledger (16)

Female: Vanadinite "Vanny" Reeves (15)

District 4:

Male: Jaze Finn (17)

Female: Kiwi Bolderdash (17)

District 5:

Male: Adrian Alexander Martinez (16)

Female: Everbloom Montgomery (16)

District 6:

Male: Carlo Severino (18)

Female: Shayla Flint (14)

District 7:

Male: Rai Ornel (14)

Female: Auden Grace (12)

District 8:

Male: Graeden Kerren (12)

Female: Trinity Brone (15)

District 9:

Male: Kesar Henry (17)

Female: Jayla Breeze (14)

District 10:

Male: Rowlan Grey (15)

Female: Sayre Margrave (16)

District 11:

Male: Dakota Cameron Browning (15)

Female: Aisling(ASH-ling) Hart (16) 

District 12:

Male: Lysander "Lyle" Llewellyn (16)

Female: Twerre Nightngale (15)


	7. The Games Begin

**Hey! Sorry I took so long to update. I was camping over the weekend and then I wasn't sure how I was going to do the first chapter, but it's here now. Thanks for being so patiant with me. I hope you like it.**

I woke up feeling groggy and tired, and a feeling of dread swept over me. Today was the day of the reapings, the day I was going to become a tribute against my mom's will. I had first gotten the idea last summer, thinking it was finally the breakthrough we needed, but when I told my mom she had a fit. She got all nervous and shaky, and even went so far as to forbid me from volunteering. I acted like I understood her worries, and promised not to volunteer, but I don't think she believed me. She knew me too well, knew I was just like my father. The reason she's so worried about me entering the games is that my father volunteered for the games, thinking he would win and they could live happily ever after in victor's village, but he died in the bloodbath. After he died my mom gave birth to me, and has been so protective of me it's impossible to describe. So now we still live in our run down shack, weaving baskets and fishing for a living. I've given up everything to help support our family. I don't have any friends, because I don't have the time for that stuff, and I wear old, torn clothes and eat very little. But I don't mind.

"Kiwi!" my mother calls from the kitchen. "Breakfast is ready!"

"Ok, mom!" I call back. "Be there in a moment!" I stumble around my room, picking up a clean shirt and pants. It's nothing fancy, but it'll have to do. I comb my hair and then do it up in a ponytail. My mom looks up as I enter the kitchen. It can't really be called a kitchen, because it only consists of a table and chairs, and one cupboard filled half way with food. I sit down at the table and mom sets down a plate of fish and toast in front of me. I try to nibble at my food, but my stomach is twisting from anticipation and nervousness. Mom watches me eat with a pained expression. She's been dreading this day, too.

"Kiwi," my mom says. I look up at her. "Kiwi, you can't volunteer. Please don't. We'll be fine. I've been saving up some money. We could maybe move to a better house, or get this one repaired. It would kill me if you died, Kiwi. I've already had to deal with your father's death. Don't make me go through the pain again." Her eyes are pleading, filled with tears. I almost break down crying right there, but I hold back my tears and meet her eyes.

"I have to, mom," I say softly. "We deserve a better life than this." And with that I get up and walk out the door. I hear her sobs as I walk away, and let out a few tears of my own_. I'm doing this for mom, I tell myself, and for dad who died trying to give us a better life._ The wind blows the loose strands of my dark hair into my face as I make my way to the beach. The ocean always soothes me when I'm upset. A few other kids are here , lined up along the beach, but I don't pay attention to them, and they know to ignore me. Maybe it's better that I don't have any friends. That way I won't be upsetting anyone but my mom. After a while I get up and go back home. Mom's weaving in the kitchen, and doesn't look up at me as I walk in. I head to my room and brush out my hair. Then, I wash up in the bathroom and put on a pair of worn sandals. My hair is frizzy and sticks up at odd angles, so I put it up in a bun. Mom comes in and hands me something. It's a green silk ribbon.

"It was your father's," she says. "Keep this as your token." She ties the ribbon around my bun and then stands back to admire me. "You're beautiful, Kiwi. Good luck. I love you." Mom hugs me close and I hold back more tears.

"I have to do this," I whisper. "For us. I love you, too." Then I pull away and rush out the door and into the bright sunlight. I half walk half run to the town square where the reapings take place. It's decorated all over with shells and flowers and banners, as if the Hunger Games are some fun, happy holiday. I walk over to my section, the seventeen year olds section. _Maybe I'll have a chance, I tell myself. I'm one of the oldest people here. Maybe I'll live._ The mayor comes up on stage and gives the speech about the Hunger games and the history of Panen and then the escort of district 4, Ellia Arvon, walks up to thwe mike.

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen!" she says in her high pitched, cheery voice. "Welcome to the reapings of the 80th Hunger Games! Let's start with the ladies, shall we? And may the odds be ever in your favor. I think of all my names in that ball of names, much more than anyone else because of the tesserae I took. I think that maybe I'll be lucky and just be picked and not have to volunteer and make mom upset. Her hand reaches into the ball, and I hold my breath. I'm nervous, I'll admit it. I don't want to be in the Hunger Games, having to kill innocent children just like me, but I have to do it, for mom. Ellia Arvon picks out a name and studies it.

"Aurora Helvine!" she announces. Before Aurora can even take a step I shout out.

"I volunteer!" I shout, and make my way to the stage.

"Wonderful!" beams Ellia Arvon when I finaly reach the stage. "And what is your name?"

"Kiwi Bolderdash," I reply, sweaty from nerves.

"Everyone! The female tribute of district 4! Kiwi Bolderdash!" she shouts to the crowd. The crowd cheers and hollars, and then Ellia Arvon's reaching into the male tribute ball. The crowd quiets down at once.

"Jaze Finn!" she calls out, and my stomach sinks. I've seen Jaze around school, but have never talked to him. He's my age, seventeen, and tall and strong. I don't have a chance against him. He walks up to the stage with a defiant "I'm not scared" look and stands beside me. I try to match his look. We shake hands and I'm praying, so desperately praying that I'll make it out alive, and that I won't have to kill Jaze Finn.

**Ok, so here you go. I hope you like it. I'm not sure if I captured Kiwi's personality right, but I tried. Anyway, just because this chapter is in kiwi's perspective doesn't necessarily mean she's the winner. I've already picked the winner out of a hat, and I'm not teling you who it is, so don't even ask. I'll try to do the next chapter in someone else's perspective, but I might just do Kiwi's again if something comes to me. Please review and let me know what you think.**


	8. The Justice Building

**Ok, here's the next chapter. There aren't going to be anymore reapings, just so you know. I'm writing this story differently. So if your character hasn't been written yet, please be patiant. I'm still just starting the story. : )**

As I shake her hand, so many things are running through my mind. My first thought is, _I've seen her before._ I've seen her around school, but have never really talked to her. She's one of the poorer families in the district. She seemed like a nice kid, just misunderstood, and yet she didn't have any friends. _Why did you do this? I wonder. Why did you volunteer? Do you want to kill inocent children?_ Ellia Arvon goes on talking about what a wonderful year this is going to be, and a bunch of other stupid things that don't matter. I'm getting nervous. I don't want to be here. I want to be home in my warm bed, safe and happy without a care in the world. Then Ellia Arvon's leading us away to the Justice Building, where we'll say goodbye to our families. Two Capital gaurds join us on the elevator, to "make sure we're safe." The real reason: to make sure we don't get any bright ideas and run away. I've just become a tribute and already I'm in jail. They leave me in a bright, red carpeted room with red couches made of some expensive cloth. I sit down and wake for my visitors. It's no surprise that the first ones to visit me are Carlo and Alexia, my older siblings. See, my mom and dad died in a fishing accident a few years back when they got caught in a net. Carlo and Alexia have taken care of me ever since, missing out on a lot of their childhood. I owe everything to them.

"Oh, Jaze," sobs Alexia. She pulls me to her and hugs me tight.

"It's alright," I tell her. She pulls away, and the tears trailing down her cheeks are painful to see.

"No, Jaze, It's not," she says. "People die in these games."

"Alexia, have faith in him," says Carlo. Alexia stares at him.

"Have faith? What good is faith? It's the same thing as hope, and hope gets you nowhere," Alexia nearly shouts. I try to find words to say, but her words leave me speachless. She turns back to me and grabs both of my wrists tightly.

"Alexia," I mutter. "Alexia, you're hurting me."

"Listen to me, Jaze," she says, her voice serious. I stop complaining and look up at her. "You're not to die, you got that? You're going to go there and stay out of people's way and win and come home. Promise me." I want to promise her this, more than anything, but this isn't something you can promise. The silence is deafening. She gives me a small shake, and a tear lands on my arm. I realize its my own.

"I promise," I say softly, and I know it's a lie. Alexia seems to know it, too. The gaurds come back in.

"Time to go," They say. Alexia bursts into sobs all over again and Carlo frowns.

"We love you, Jaze," he says, and then they're both being dragged out of the room, Alexia sobbing the whole way.

"Take care of each other!" I shout, but they're already gone. It's silent for a moment, and then Ruff walks in. Ruff's been my best friend for years, so I'm not surprised to see him.

"Hey, man," he says as he sits down.

"Hey," I say. We sit in silence for a moment.

"I'm sorry," he says suddenly. I look up at him, startled.

"Sorry?" I ask. "What for?"

"For turning nineteen. I could have volunteered for you. I would have," he replies. He's biting his lip and looking at his hands.

"You can't help turning nineteen. I don't blame you. None of this is your fault," I say. He meets my eyes and smiles gratefuly.

"I know," he says. "I'm just being stupid. But promise me this, Jaze. Don't die." I stare at him for a minute, remembering the other promise I made, and all the people who are going to be hurt when I don't come home.

"I promise," I say, trying to put all my unsaid feeling into those last two words. Then the gaurds are back and taking Ruff away, and I'm crying, crying despite how weak it makes me feel. I cry for everything I'm going to miss, and for my family and friends, and even for Kiwi, the girl who volunteered to willingly give her life up. I start to wonder again_. What's it like to die? Is it painful? Will I be turned into another one of the Capital's killing machines? Will I kill inoccent children? And why, why on Earth did Kiwi Bolderdash give up her life?_ Maybe it's because she's stronger than I am, or maybe it's because she didn't want little Aurora to have to die, or maybe, just maybe, she didn't have anything to live for.

**Aww. Poor Jaze. I hope you liked this chapter. Hopefully I got Jaze's personality right, but I think I'm a little off. Anyway, please review. Thanks everyone!**


	9. Dinner

**Next Chapter! This one is in Everbloom's POV. I hope you like it, and please review! Thanks!**

The cold glass presses against my face as I look out the window. Trees and hills are rolling past, a blur of greens and browns. My reapings dress, a little, strapless ice blue thing, is crumpled under me. I hadn't bothered to take it off when I borded the train, even though the dresser was full of tons of pretty clothes. I reach up and touch the cheetah on my necklace Emily had given to me right before I borded the train. We'd had a tearful goodbye, filled with pointless promises and wishings of luck. I didn't have to be here now. I didn't have to volunteer, but at the same time I did. Emily is so much smaller and daintier than me. She wouldn't have stood much of a chance. I had at least a little better of a chance to make it. My mom had cried, and so had my sisters and brother. They begged me not to go, but they didn't understand. You can't get out of the Hunger Games. It's just starting to turn dark when district five's escort, Lander Silvia comes to take me to dinner. Adrian Martinez, the boy tribute of district five is already seated at the table. Ravia Joelena, our menter, is sitting next to him. I make my way shyly to the table and sit on the other side of Adrian. He gives me a small smile and I try to smile back, but my nerves are acting up again. I don't like to be around people. I've been shy my whole life, but I'm trying to shake that habbit. He studies me for a moment, but then looks back down at the table. Food arives shortly: Roast beef and a creamy cheese soup. The soup melts on my tongue, and the roast beef is perfectly cooked. It's been a while since I've had a meal like this. Skratch that. I've never had a meal like this. For the moment I forget my manners, and just eat away until I'm so full I can't eat another bite.

"My, my!" Lander Silvia laughs. "You're real hungry, aren't you?" Ravia rolls her eyes and gives him a look that clearly says "Of course she is, idiot. Not all the districts have it just as good as the Capital does." I admire her for her annoyance. Lander doesn't seem to notice her death glare. He keeps on eating and making jokes.

"So," says Ravia after a while. "What can you two do?" I have to think for a moment about this one, but Adrian speaks right up.

"I'm smart," he says. "And a good observer. I'm pretty good with a kife, too." She nods and then turns her gaze on me.

"What about you?" she asks. I look down at my plate.

"I'm good with animals," I say softly. "And I can run really fast." I sneak a glance at Radia.

"What about weapons?" she asks. " Are you good with anything?"

"I'm good with a shotgun and bow and arrow,' I reply. She studies me curiously.

"Interesting," she mutters. "And how does a girl like you know how to use a shotgun and bow and arrow?"

"The animals," I say. "At our district. I use a shotgun or bow and arrow to keep predators away. If I didn't they would all be dead." Ravia nods. She knows about the animals distrcit five is herding for the Capital. There's all sorts of animals, including cheetahs, my favorite. A small, blond haired girl comes in and serves us desert. The chocolate cake looks so good I eat it, even though I'm stuffed.

"Thank you," I tell the girl. She looks scared and leaves quickly. I frown and look to Radia, who sat back down.

"She doesn't mean anything by it," she says. "She's just not supposed to interact with the tributes, unless they're giving her a command. "

"But who is she?" I ask. Radia gets a grim look on her face.

"She's an avox," she says. "A traiter to the Capital. She can't talk, because they cut out her tongue. That's what they do to avoxes." I feel sick. That poor girl. Radia seems to sense my distress and gives me a sad smile. We eat our desert in silence for the rest of dinner, and then we're dismissed to our rooms. As I'm about to open the door of my room, a hand grabs my shoulder. I jump and turn to whoever is behind me. It's Adrian.

"Sorry if I scared you," he says. "Hey, are you alright? You seemed kind of upset back there."

"I'm fine," I say. "I mean, besides the fact that I just became a tribute for the Hunger Games and found out what they do to innocent people who they think betray the Capital." His face turns grim.

"I'm sorry," he says.

"You don't have to be sorry," I say. "I volunteered. For my friend." I pull away from him and enter my room, closing the door behind me. His footsteps echo down the hall as he heads to his room. I feel kind of bad. Leaving like that was rude. I colapse onto the bed, not even bothering to take off my dress. I miss my home, with the rolling hills and beautiful pens filled with animals. I miss my mom, and siblings, Emily, and most of all, I miss my life. _Why am I here? I ask myself. What have I gotten myself into?_ And as I drift off into sleep, I think I know the answer.

**Ok, here you go! I hope you enjoyd it. I really liked writing it, but I might not have gotten Everbloom's personality right. I try. Please review and let me know what you think! : D **


	10. Thoughts

**Next Chapter! Enjoy! Oh, and since I never said this, I do not own The Hunger Games. (Duh!) This is in Adrian's POV.**

I head back to my room, a little confused. Her words echo in my head. _'I volunteered. For a friend.'_ It makes me think she's had it rough, having to not only take care of herself, but her friend as well. I had known her and Emily were friends. They were always together. But I guess I never really realized that they cared so much for each other; that they would give their life up for each other. I reach my room and sit on the edge of the bed. I feel trapped, like there's no way out, and in a way, I guess that's true. She was upset, and it wasn't just because she was in the Hunger Games. _We should have never moved here, I think to myself. We should have stayed in Puerto Rico. _I miss my mom and dad, and even my sister. I miss my dog, too. I'm not usually one to sulk, but I can't imagine not ever coming home, having to kill children just like me if I want to stay alive. I lay back on the bed and cry, cry because it's the only thing I can think of. _Whatever happens, I have to stay strong, I tall myself. And I have to protect Everbloom. She doesn't deserve to die. I'll help her to win, even if that means I'll never come home._

**Sorry this was so short. It was kind of a filler chapter. I promise the next one will be longer. Ah, Adrain. I think I might have made him more emotional than he is. Oh, and this story has over 100 reviews! That's awsome guys/gals! Keep reviewing! Thanks.**


	11. The Reapings

**Next chapter! Hope you like it! This is in Shayla's POV.**

I wake up with a pounding headache. Vinel Assue, district six's mentor, is a real pain. He's always cheerful and sarcastic, and acts like he's our best friend. _'Call me pal'_ he says. Yeah, like that will ever happen. Last night he kept us up nearly all night telling us stories that he thinks are funny. Just as I'm trying to go back to sleep, he's pounding on my door.

"Get up. Kiddo! We've got work to do!" he says. I sigh and get up, nearly throwing the door open.

"Will you be quiet!" I say. He looks a little hurt, but he keeps his mouth shut. I follow him down the hall, and we end up in the TV room.

"I thought we could watch the reapings," he says. "I recorded them." We were so busy yesterday we never got a chance to watch them. I add that to my mental list of things I hate about Vinel Assue.

"Fine," I say, spotting Carlo on the couch. I sit next to him and Vinel turns on the TV. District one is first, and I wonder whether to watch or not. Sure, this might give me a little info about my toughest competetors, but the people of district one are real jerks. I decide to watch them anyway. First, some girl named Topaz Shine is called. She looks like a real piece of work. The way she walks up to the stage, acting like she's better than anyone else, makes me sick. Then Titus Bronze is called. He doesn't seem as bad, and doesn't act as snotty, but he still makes a frown creep onto my lips. District two is next. Gemma Barnes is called, and there's something about her that's odd. She doesn't seem like the career type, and doesn't act at all pleased to have been called, but it could be a trick. I keep her in mind so I can watch her during training. Emory Blackwell is called as the boy tribute, and my stomach twists in worry at the sight of him. He's strong, and has no feelings. You can tell just by looking at him. I hate him immediately. The rest of the districts go by. I pay special attention to both of the district four tributes, Everbloom Montgomery, and Aisling Hart. Kiwi Bolderdash doesn't seem like the "I love the Hunger games!" type, but she still volunteered. Jaze Finn looks unfazed, too, but I think it might all just be an act. Everbloom. Why would she volunteer? She seems so innocent and caring. Maybe she knew the girl she volunteered for. And Aisling. I don't know what it is that made her stand out. Maybe it was the way she acted totally against the games, or the fact that she looked totally pissed that her name was drawn.

"I'll be in my room," I say, getting up. I rush out the door and head to my room, thinking, planning. If I'm going to get out of this alive, I'm going to need allies.

**Yeah, I know this was another short chapter. I broke my promise. Sorry. And sorry I haven't updated in a while. I was being lazy. The next chapter WILL be longer. I swear. I'll persevere. But I don't know when it will be up. I've got a huge case of writer's block. **


	12. Chariot Ride

**So sorry for the long wait! It was a mix of writer's block and being lazy. I feel awful, because you guys are awesome reviewers, and always tell me how good my story is. So sorry! But it's here now, so enjoy. This is in Auden's POV. I know, I know. I broke the pattern of boy girl, but the next two will be in guy's POV's to make up for this chapter. Hope you like it.**

_It's alright Auden,_ I thought to myself. _Just do what Argona told you. _My hands shake as I find my way to my chariot. I hate crowds of people, because of my nerves. Rai Ornel, the boy tribute of district seven is already there, talking to our mentor, Mista.

"Oh, there you are, Auden," she says as I walk up to her. "Argona did a wonderful job on you. You look gorgeous." I look down at my outfit, which is a plain black leotard covered with leaves, and vines, and bark. I look like a tree if I stand completely still. In my hand is a silver axe. I don't like the axe part; it makes me look mean, but I do know how to use one, though I'd never use it on anyone. Mista ushers us inside, giving us final directions.

"Remember," she says. "Smile, but don't look at the audience. We want you two to look mysterious, like there's something you find funny, but no one knows what it is." I nod, showing I understand. The first chariots start to move, heading to the City Circle. I'm nervous again, and start to shake in fear. Rai notices my shaking, and places a hand on my shoulder.

"It's Ok, Auden," he says. "Don't be nervous. Just remember what Mista told us. I'll be right here next to you the whole time. Ok?" I look up at him, and see genuine concern in his eyes. If there's anyone here I can trust, anyone at all, it's him.

"Ok," I say, and turn my attention back to the procession of chariots. We go next. I lift my head high, smile, and sit completely still. As our chariot starts to move, I focus on the moon, which is directly in front of us up in the night sky. The moon reminds me of home, when mom would take me out to a clearing in the woods at night. We would bring a little cheese and bread, and just stare up at the sky for hours. The moon was always my favorite part, because it's so big and beautiful and bright. It's loud, very loud. Crowds of people line the road the chariots ride down, cheering and screaming. The different chariots flash across the big screen up in the sky. It lingers on us for a little longer than the others, probably to help the people make us out through our tree disguise. We're nearing the City Circle now, and the cheers get even louder. I glance at Rai, just to make sure he's there. He's watching the chariot in front of us, grinning. We go around the circle one more time and then stop. President Snow is there on the balcony of the Justice Building, smiling. I don't like him. His big puffy lips and superior posture make me dislike him even more. Why is he doing this to us? The rebellion was years ago. Why must we pay for it now? He goes into a speech and then the anthem plays. Then we are traveling around the circle one more time before being dismissed to the Training Center. Mista pulls me into a hug as soon as we step off the elevator.

"You were perfect!" she says. "Absolutely stunning! I could hardly see you two in the dark." She pulls away to hug Rai, and I watch her curiously. How did someone as nice as her win the Hunger Games? Maybe by accident.

"I agree," says Stevon Hellaon, our escort. "let's go eat dinner, shall we?"

"That sounds good," I say "I'm starving." Dinner is loud and fun, with lots of praise from Mista to Argona and Eveli, Rai and I's designers.

"Thank you," says Argona. "It took me hours to get that design right."

"We worked on those costumes all night," adds Eveli. "I'm so glad you liked them."

"They were very mysterious," I add, forgetting about being shy for a moment. They smile at me, grateful that I liked them. After dinner Rai walks with me to my room. I don't say anything, but I'm wondering what he's going to say. We pause at the door, and it's silent for a moment.

"Auden," he says after a while. "Are you sure you're going to be Ok? I mean, during the games, are you going to be able to take care of yourself." His question takes me by surprise.

"I don't want to kill people," I say softly. "But I'll be alright. Honest. I know how to use an axe, though I hope I never have to use it." I open the door to my room and step inside, leaving Rai to his thoughts outside my door. In truth, I'm not Ok. I can't kill anyone. It's just so wrong. I walk over to the window and stare up at the moon. The stars are hard to see here, because of all the lights, but the moon always shines through. It's strong, and good, and I wish so much that I could fly up into the sky and join the moon, away from all of this pain and suffering. My mother's ring is under my pillow, and I take it out and lay with it on my bed. Tears pour out of my eyes and onto the pillow beneath my head. Why did I have to be chosen? Soon, I'll be gone, far away from my family and friends in an arena, with only the moon for company. Who knows? Maybe even the moon will be gone from view, and then I'll be left completely alone. No, I'll never be able to win these games.

**Awww. Poor Auden. This chapter made me sad. **** Please review and let me know what you think, and please visit my forum, Mockingjay. I need people to share opinions with on there, and I was wondering if anyone wanted to help be a moderator for my forum. Just leave me a review if you're interested. Also, please check out my other story, Finding Myself. Nobody's reviewed it yet, and I need to know if it's any good or not, so I can decide whether to continue it or not. I could also use a beta reader for my spelling, since I'm not the best speller. Again, review if you're interested. Thanks so much everyone!**


	13. Training

**Next Chapter. This one's in Carlo's POV, to make it even with the boys and girls. I uploaded two chapters today, because of the long wait.**

"Get up!" Vinel is yelling outside my door. "It's day one of training!" I get up, groggy from lack of sleep. I've been worried about this day for a while. I don't want to train. I'm getting ready to kill innocent people, which makes me feel sick to my stomach. Damn Capital! Why are they doing this to me? My feet dragging, I finally reach the bathroom. The shower water feels warm on my skin, and wakes me up a bit. Clothes are picked at random from the drawers, and then I'm making my way down to breakfast. Shayla's already there, looking sleep deprived and slightly annoyed. She glances up at me as I enter, but then goes back to eating. I grab a plate and whatever food is in front of me. I'm not planning on eating it much, anyway.

"Listen," says Vinel in the most serious voice I've ever heard him use. This makes me look up from my cranberry juice, and Shayla does the same. She must realize how serious this is, because I've never seen her look at him other than to give him a glare.

"What is it?" I ask. He gives me a long look.

"In training today I want you to keep a close eye on your competitors. Those other tributes, they're not going to go easy on you. You need to know what you're up against. You hear me?" he says. We nod.

"Good," he says. "And watch each other, too. Know what each of your skills are. Train together if you have to. Make allies. You're going to need help in that arena." He gets up and leaves the room. Our escort, Levia Rashina, starts to make chit chat.

"So," she says. "What are you two going to do?" I glance at Shayla, wondering if I should reveal my strengths.

"I'm not sure," replies Shayla. "I mean, I don't know if I should train more at what I'm good at, or try something new."

"Oh, just try a little of everything and see what you're good at. Focus on those things," replies Levia. Shayla seems to actually take this into consideration. After all, it is a good plan.

"Have you seen anyone you might want to ally with?" Levia asks me.

"I'm not sure. I guess maybe Rai or Dakota. They seem nice," I reply. She turns to Shayla.

"I'm keeping my eye on the district four tributes, and Everbloom, and Aisling. There's something unique about them. And maybe even Gemma, but I'm not sure about her," she says. Wow. That's a lot of people.

"I think you two will do great!" says Levia. "You're smart and skilled. Don't worry too much, Ok?" I feel a little better after this. If Levia thinks we'll be Ok, then maybe we will. After breakfast I head up to the roof. It's peaceful up here, and the view is spectacular.

"Decided to come up here too, huh?" says a voice from behind me. It's Shayla.

"Yeah," I say. "I needed some fresh air." She comes to stand beside me, looking around.

"It's nice up here," she mutters. She turns to me. "So, Rai and Dakota, huh? They seem nice."

"I figured if I wanted to survive I was going to need allies, and they seemed the most like me," I reply. "What are you planning on doing for training?"

"I think I'm going to go with Levia's advice," she replies. "Try a little of everything. Find what I'm good at."

"Me too," I say. It's quiet for a long time, and I'm starting to get nervous again. Sure, I'm one of the oldest tributes here, but I'm also one of the weak hearted. I don't think I could kill anybody.

"It's probably almost time to go," says Shayla after a while. Without another word, we make our way down the ladder and head to the training center. Only Emory, Kiwi, Topaz, and Jayla are there. We sit down and wait for the rest of the tributes. By ten thirty everyone's there and ready to go. You can feel the anxiety in the room, melting off the tributes like sweat. The head trainer goes over the rules of training, and then we are dismissed to go where we please. I head over to knot tying first. I can already make a pretty decent snare, but it won't hurt to learn something new. The trainer quickly sees that the beginner knots are too easy for me, and makes me try a more difficult one. Jayla's over by the knife station, a group of people watching her. She's pretty good. Rai and Dakota are at the camoflouage and edible plant stations. I think about joining one of them, but have to finish this knot first. I watch the trainer again and manage to make an adequate knot. The trainer praises me and then I move to the camoflouage station. Rai's still there, painting his arm into a field of wild flowers. He welcomes me as I sit down, and we start to talk. I learn that he lives with his mother and grandparents, and that his father died of a heart attack before he was born. I tell him about my family as well, and then we talk a bit about the games.

"You have any plans for the games?" he asks me.

"Not really," I reply. "Right now I'm just looking for allies." He nods and then it's quiet for a while.

"Well, I'm going over to knife throwing," he says after a while. "Want to come?"

"Sure," I say. Throwing knives is one thing I'm good at. We talk some more, but I'm busy watching the other tributes. The tributes from one, Emory from district two, Vanadinite from district three, and both the tributes from district four are together. They'll be the careers, no doubt. I wonder how Vanadinite got into the careers. Usually the tributes from district three aren't part of their group. Dakota comes and joins Rai and me. He doesn't talk to us much, though. We're dismissed for lunch and I pull Rai aside as everyone else heads to the food.

"Rai," I say, talking softly so no one will hear us. "Wanna be allies?"

**There you go! Two chapters in one day! Hope you like it.**


	14. Descision

**Ok, here's the next chapter. This is in Rai's POV. I hope you like it. Just two more chapters and then we're on to the games! Yay! Oh, and never mind about the beta thing.**

"Rai," he says softly. "Wanna be allies?" I freeze where I am, startled. It's so sudden, this question. I look over at Auden, and see she's eating lunch with Graeden. They're laughing about something. Damon comes over and joins them, and I see Kesar on the other side of the room watching. I know Auden will be safe. She has all those people who care about her. Now the question is if I can trust him. I look back at him and study him carefully. Sure, we pretty much shared our life stories with each other, but could it have been an act? He's frowning slightly, waiting for my reply. His hands threaten to start shaking any second. Carlo doesn't seem like the person to going backstabbing his allies.

"Ok," I say finally. "Let's be allies." He sighs in relief and grins.

"Cool," he says. "So, you wanna go eat?"

"Yeah," I reply. "I'm starving." We walk over to a table in the corner and sit down. A few people shoot us glances, noticing our little alliance. Shayla raises an eyebrow at Carlo, and he gives her a grin back. She gives him a glare and then turns back to her food.

"Oh, dude, Shayla's so jealous. I bet she's wishing she could have made an alliance this quick!" says Carlo.

"Yeah," I say, and look over to Auden again. She meets my eyes for a second and then looks away. "Maybe we should start talking strategy." Carlo looks me in the eyes.

"Ok. What do you have in mind?" he says. I close my eyes and think. I've been known for being mischevious, but for some reason I can't think of anything now. It's like my mind just turned off.

"I don't know," I say. "Let's talk about this tomorrow. I need some time to think." He nods.

"Ok. Sounds good," he says. "Tomorrow it is."

**Ok, so I know this is really short, but it was more of a filler chapter so you could see what Rai's answer to the question was. Please review and let me know what you think. If you have any suggestions or requests just leave a review, and I'll try my hardest to make it happen. I really take what you guys say into heart. Anyway, I hope you liked it, and sorry for the long time it took to update.**


	15. The Spark Of A Rebellion

**Next chapter! Just one more and then it's the games! This is in Vanny's POV. I hope you like it.**

I hate this. These games, they're just killing off the population. I've always hated the games, and now I'm stuck here, forced to participate in them. Why can't the damn Capital just leave us alone! Damon, who's sitting across from me, waves his hand in front of my face to get my attention.

"Hey, you Ok?" he asks me. I look up at him.

"I guess," I reply, but in truth, I'm anything but Ok. I'm furious that we're here. Damon has five little kids back home that he has to take care of. What will happen to them if he dies? I don't want him to die, but he has to if I want to come home. The thought makes me sick to my stomach. The boy from district 2 is leaving now to perform in front of the gamemakers. Emory is his name, and I hate him. I almost didn't join the careers because of him, but I knew I had to if I wanted to survive. I almost didn't get in. Normally the tributes from district 3 aren't careers, but they liked my attitude, and the way I was good with hand to hand combat. I'm quick, too, which is always a good skill to have. I'm nervous now. I don't know what to do if front of the gamemakers. I'll throw some daggers, maybe, or beat the hell out of a punching bag.

"You know what you're going to do in front of the gamemakers?" I ask Damon. He bites his lip.

"I don't know. I'm not really good at much. I might tie a few knots or throw some knives or something," he replies. I nod. He looks nervous, and I feel bad for him. He doesn't have much of a chance unless he pairs up with someone. All too soon I'm being called into the training center. I walk to the middle and just stand there for a second. _What do I do, what do I do? _I grab some knives and head over to a practice dummy. _Here goes nothing. _I slice, punch, and kick at the dummy. _Pretend this is President Snow. Kill Snow._ I repeat this over and over in my mind, and my anger builds. After what seems like hours of punching and ripping and shoving I step away from the remains of the dummy. It's all cut up and mangled, and is barely standing upright. I let out the breath I didn't know I was holding and look up to the gamemakers. They seem pretty interested, and after a moment of silence they dismiss me. I head back to my room, shocked. Did I really do all that? A smirk creeps onto my lips as I replay it in my mind. I did it. I ripped the dummy apart. I killed Snow. Now I'm wishing more than ever that it really was Snow. I could end these games. The thought brings a smile to my lips, and I almost laugh. I could do it, I could save Panem. The dummy is shredded, ruined, just like Snow will be when I'm through with him.

**Ok, so it's another short chapter. Sorry. Actually, there are two more chapters before the games, but one is just the training scores. Then there will be the interviews, and then the games. Yay! I've already got bits and pieces planned out, and even a romance. I hope you're as excited as I am, and I hope you liked this chapter. Please review, and if you have any ideas just tell me in a review. I'll be glad to hear from you.**


	16. Training Scores

**Here are the training scores! Next is the interviews and then the games! Are you guys excited? I am! Training scores are in bold.**

District 1:

Male: Titus Bronze (17) **9**

Female: Topaz Shine (17) **6**

District 2:

Male: Emory Blackwell (17) **10**

Female: Gemma Barnes (13) **5**

District 3:

Male: Damon Ledger (16) **6**

Female: Vanadinite "Vanny" Reeves (15) **10**

District 4:

Male: Jaze Finn (17) **8**

Female: Kiwi Bolderdash (17) **8**

District 5:

Male: Adrian Alexander Martinez (16) **7**

Female: Everbloom Montgomery (16) **7**

District 6:

Male: Carlo Severino (18) **6**

Female: Shayla Flint (14) **8**

District 7:

Male: Rai Ornel (14) **7**

Female: Auden Grace (12) **6**

District 8:

Male: Graeden Kerren (12) **6**

Female: Trinity Brone (15) **5**

District 9:

Male: Kesar Henry (17) **9**

Female: Jayla Breeze (14) **7**

District 10:

Male: Rowlan Grey (15) **5**

Female: Sayre Margrave (16) **8**

District 11:

Male: Dakota Cameron Browning (15) **5**

Female: Aisling(ASH-ling) Hart (16) **7**

District 12:

Male: Lysander "Lyle" Llewellyn (16) **5**

Female: Twerre Nightngale (15) **5**

**Ok, this is it. I hope you're satisfied with the scores, and if you're not, well not everyone can be really good. None of the scores are that low, really. I think the lowest score is a 5, and that's not horribly bad. I tried my best to give them scores based on their descriptions.**


	17. Interviews

**Next Chapter! This one is in Sayre's POV. I hope you like it, and please review. Thanks!**

I sit in my seat, nervous. I shouldn't be, because I've had years of practice telling jokes and stories, but I'm afraid my usual attitude won't please the audience. The interviews have just started, leaving me with a few minutes of thought_. Remember what Adias told you,_ I think to myself. _'Act sincere and confident. Make them laugh,' _he had said. That shouldn't be so hard. I can do that. I shuffle in my seat, and my dress brushes against my legs. I'm wearing a long, black dress covered in diamonds that match my blue grey eyes perfectly. My dark hair is down for once, and getting in my face. I brush it away, annoyed, and rub my ankles. These high heels are killing me!_ What if I trip on my way to Ceasar? No! Calm down Sayre. Just calm down. Control your breathing._ The girl from district seven is up. _Already? This is going by too fast! _You can tell her angle is to look sweet and innocent. After all, she is only twelve. I feel bad for her. She shouldn't have to die at such a young age. No one should have to die. Now I'm angry, and that's not good, because now I'm sure to screw up my interview. _Look what you do to yourself, Sayre! Calm down already!_ Already my partner, the boy from district ten, is walking up to the stage. He does Ok, acting confident and humorous. All too soon his minute is up, and I find myself walking p to the stage. I sit down in the chair next to Ceasar and do my best to smile.

"Oh my! I must say, you look stunning Miss Margrave!" he says, beaming at me. _Look at him! Smile, be nice. You're doing fine. You didn't even trip!_

"Why, thank you, Ceasar. Adias did a great job, didn't he?" I say. I pick the end of my dress up, running my fingers through the silk.

"It's gorgeous!" he exclaims. "Now tell me, how are you feeling?"

"Uh, well, a little nervous I guess," I say honestly. "But I mean, who wouldn't be? Winning the games isn't easy, and everyone here is so strong and good. Everyone has a pretty good chance at winning." Ceasar nods.

"Of course. It's very normal to be nervous. You got a pretty good training score, though. Tell us, if you don't mind, how did you manage to get an eight?" he says.

"Um, well I would tell you, Ceasar, but I don't want the other tributes to know my strategy. It wouldn't be good if they could use it against me," I say. He nods.

"Of course," he says. "That's perfectly understandable. Now, I hear you come from a rather large family. Do you have any stories to tell?" A story pops into my head immediately. This is the perfect question for him to ask me. My nervousness is gone in an instant.

"Well, Ceasar, there is one," I say, laughing as I remember it. "My sisters were fighting about who got the last roll during dinner. My mother had told them she would cut it in half, seeing as the argument was going nowhere, but they refused. They started to pull each other's hair, and my dad got up to get them to stop. As he passed by the table, he accidentally banged the plate the roll was resting on, and it flew up in the air and landed on my plate. My sisters immediately came after it, and knocked me off my chair in their haste. In the end, no one got the roll, but it was funny to watch them run around." The audience laughs along with Ceasar, who had started laughing at the part when I fell out of my chair.

"Sayre, that is so funny!" he says. "You are a really good story teller. It's like I was there in your kitchen, watching the whole thing happen!" The buzzer goes off, and Ceasar gets a hold of himself and clears his throat.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Sayre Margrave!" he says. "Thank you, Sayre. You can sit down now." I head back to my seat, feeling like an idiot. Stupid! I was so stupid! Sure, the audience laughed, but what did I really do? I told a stupid story, and it wasn't even all that funny! No one's going to want to sponsor me, not after that. I sit down and let my head fall, holding back tears. It's over, I've done it. But I wanted to do better.

**I hope you liked it! Sayre might be a little less emotional and not less of a worry-wort than the way I wrote her, but oh well. I did my best. Please review. Next chapter is the start of the games, and that reminds me, I figured out how the sponsoring is going to work. For every three votes a character gets, they get a cheap item. For every five votes, they get a better, more expensive item. And I know this is kind of short. The chapter always look bigger on word than on . Sorry. The chapters during the games will be longer. I'll have more to work with, then.**


	18. Let The Games Begin

**I'm so sorry it took so long for me to get this up. I was on vacation for a week, and then I didn't have any ideas. Oh, how I hate writer's block. I hope you like this chapter. This one is in Gemma's POV. It's the start of the games, finally. Time for some action!**

My plate rises, and suddenly I'm filled with fear. I shouldn't worry; I'm from a career district. I've always had food, so I'm strong enough to win this, if I try. The clothes I'm wearing are a greenish grey, and very insulated. My stylist told me that wherever we were going, it was going to be cold. The outer jacket part of the outfit, however, is more green, and can be removed to the inner part of the outfit, which is thinner and made for warmer weather. My medicine pouch is tied around my waist, in easy reach of my hand. That's the first thing I'll do. I'll look for herbs and plants for medicine. Well, after I get with the careers, of course, but they shouldn't mind helping me look. We could all use a little healing every now and again. Slowly, the plate rises above the ground and starts. Actually, it just rose to a new level of the underground. I can see this as soon as my plate stops moving, and the glass falls away. I'm in a cave, a small one. No one else is in sight; it's just me and a small pile of items a few feet away. Suddenly, I'm nervous again. It seems safe, but you never know. Where is the cornucopia? Where are the other tributes? The gong sounds, its loud clang echoing off the walls of the cave. I step off my plate cautiously, my eyes searching for the slightest movement, but there's nothing. As I get closer I see that the pile of supplies consists of a bottle of water, some dried meat and crackers, and a few needles. This is too good to be true. Everything I need to survive is set out right here in front of me. This must be a trick. My eyes sweep around the room once more, and then I grab the supplies and stuff it into my pockets. There's only one exit to the cave, and I cautiously look out of it. No one is there; just a thin, long tunnel filled with darkness. I step out the door, and am immediately pummeled with a huge gust of freezing cold wind. Pulling my jacket closer around me, I make my way down the path, using my fingers to trail along the wall. What's going on? There's no cornucopia, no tributes, and everything I need to survive is right here in my pockets. Don't they want a show, a bloodbath? I hear footsteps close by, and freeze where I am. The other footsteps stop, too, and I can hear someone breathing heavily. I bite my lip, trying to decide whether or not I should call out to them, to see who it is. But I don't have to.

"Who's there?" a voice calls. It sounds familiar, but I just can't place it.

"Stay back," I say. "I'm armed." There's a soft chuckle before the person replies.

"So am I," they say. "Is that you, Gemma?" I'm surprised they know it's me, but suddenly, I recognize the voice.

"Jaze?" I ask, the fear starting to evaporate. "Oh my god. I'm so glad it's you." The footsteps start again, and I feel a hand touch my shoulder. I jump, startled, but then place my hand on top of his, knowing it's just Jaze.

"Yeah," he says. "It's me. This is so weird, huh? There's no cornucopia or anything." I nod my head before remembering he can't see me.

"Yes, it's very strange," I say. "What supplies did you get?"

"Nothing much," he replies. "Some water, food, a small knife. You?"

"Water, food, needles. Pretty much the same," I say. "So, what should we do?"

"Hmm, good question. I guess we should try to find the rest of the careers," he replies. His hand moves down to my own, grabbing it tightly. "Don't let go. We need to stay together so we don't get lost." We start making our way along the path again, which is just big enough for us to walk side by side, though there's not much room in between. A canon sounds, and I scream from the sound before I realize what it is.

"Sorry," I say, but Jaze just gives my hand a soft squeeze.

"Just a canon," he says softly. I take a deep breath and wonder who it is. We won't see until tonight, if we even can see it. I don't see how they could place a screen where everyone can see it while we're in these tunnels. My hand finds a corner, emptiness on the other side. I pull Jaze inside, and another gust of wind blows, this one stronger than the last. It's so damn cold in here! I shiver as I walk, wishing there was some kind of light, anything, something to let us see. It's funny how quickly the light appears in the distance. We both start to run, renewed hope making our legs run faster and faster. We reach the light and see it's actually a doorway into a huge cavern. A giant hole at the top provides enough sunlight to see the whole place. Pathways and ledges jut out from every angle, and I can see other tributes walking along them. In the center is a giant cornucopia filled to the brim with supplies and weapons. The only problem is it's on a small ledge at least ten feet away from the pathways, maybe even more.

"Look," says Jaze, pointing up at the ledge above us. "It's Vanny andTopaz!" I follow his gaze and, sure enough, the two of them are up there, looking down at us.

"Jaze! Gemma!" says Topaz, a worried look on her face. "Have you seen the others?"

"No," Jaze calls back up to them. Topaz frowns but then looks to Vanny.

"How are we going to get down?" she asks. Vanny just shakes her head, unsure.

"Topaz, you and Vanny can jump. It's not too far of a drop. Me and Gemma will catch you," says Jaze. He looks to me and I nod.

"Are you sure?" asks Topaz. "It seems so far down. We'll be too heavy for you."

"It will be fine, I promise," he says, and turns to me. "Gemma, kneel down by my feet. I'll break their fall by grabbing them, but their weight will bring them down to you. Catch them, Ok?" he says. I nod. Topaz stills looks hesitant, but Vanny walks over to the edge and sits, waiting for our signal. Jaze waves and she lets herself fall, her hair blowing up behind her. The force of her fall slams me to the ground, but luckily we're both Ok.

"Thanks," she says, getting up. She kneels next to me to help catch Topaz. "It's your turn, Topaz." Topaz bites her lip and walks over to the edge. She closes her eyes and then jumps, screaming. She lands safely in me and Vanny's arms, and she slowly opens her eyes. Shakily, she stands up and looks around.

"I wonder where everyone else is," she says. I get up and stand next to her.

"I'm sure they're fine. Chances are Emory found Titus and Kiwi, and they're looking for us right now," I say. She nods and then turns to Vanny and Jaze.

"I say we make camp here. If anyone comes we can kill them," she says. We all agree, and then another canon sounds. The tributes are scattered, and yet already there are two deaths that I've heard, but there could have been more I'd missed. We sit around for a while, hoping for Emory, Titus, and Kiwi to come, but they don't, so we head over to the edge closest to the cornucopia. It's too far to jump from this ledge, but you might be able to make it from the level above if you risk killing yourself by jumping. The sunlight is starting to fade. Soon it will be night. We all head to the middle of the ledge and sit down. We don't have any sleeping bags or anything, and the ground is freezing, so we all agree to stay up and keep watch. Once the sun is gone it's pitch black again, the only noises the breathing of everyone else. A screen comes to life in the spot where light used to come from, and we all turn to see who's been killed. The anthem plays, and then the face of the boy from district ten is shown, followed by the boy from district twelve. And then the screen is gone and we're left in silence. This means that Emory, Titus, and Kiwi are alright. Hopefully they found each other and aren't hurt or anything.

"Two down, twenty-two to go," Topaz mutters. We still have a long way to go.


	19. Day 2

**Hi everyone! I'm so sorry I haven't updated for a while. I've been really busy and was suffering from a bad case of writer's block. This chapter's in Graeden's POV. **

_Keep running, Graeden,_ I tell myself. _You have to keep going or they'll catch you._ But even as I'm thinking this I come to a stop at the base of a tree. The air out here is so much warmer than in the cave. I take off the outer jacket of my clothing and sit down. I'll only stay here for a few minutes, then I'll be off on my way again to find water. I'm not sure if any of the other tributes made it out of the cave. I don't even know how I made it out. One minute I was running through the caves, a harsh wind at my back, and then suddenly I was out here in the open air. There must have been an entrance somewhere, but it's so dark in there you can't see a thing. As I catch my breath I finally take a look around me. I'm in some sort of forest, scattered all around with bushes and berries, but I'm not sure which ones are safe to eat, so I've stayed clear of them. There's an itchy rash on my legs from some sort of plant I ran through, probably poison ivy. It's eerily quiet, not even a bird chirping to break the silence. Suddenly, my eyes pick up on a patch of grass by my feet that looks like it's been walked on. It's not something someone would easily see, but I'm very observant that way. In less than a second I'm on my feet, the small dagger I had found in my starting cave in my hand. My eyes dart around, and I almost start shaking. A small movement about ten feet away catches my eye, and in another second I've thrown my dagger at the base of the tree that held the movement. I'm not very good with throwing daggers, and it just barely sticks into the side of the tree. There's a small yelp and a figure steps away from the tree, so covered in mud and sticks and bark that I hadn't even realized they were there. I jump back, hitting the tree, and prepare for the worse. But the figure just sinks to its knees and looks up at me with pleading eyes. I watch as they go from a mix of confusion and surprise to pure joy.

"Graeden?" the figure says, and I immediately recognize the voice. I take a step away from the tree.

"Auden?" I ask, my face breaking into a grin. "Auden! It is you!" I run up to her and wipe the mud off of her face. It's her all right. I would recognize her emerald green eyes anywhere.

"I can't believe I found you! How did you manage to find your way out of the caves?" she says.

"I don't know. I was just walking and I ended up here. What about you? Are you okay? Did I hit you with my dagger?" I reply. She gives a small smile.

"No, but you scared me half to death. I had my eyes closed so I wouldn't be found and I opened them just as you threw your dagger. As for how I got out of the caves, I was just following the wind to see where it goes and I ended up here, like you." She says. I sigh in relief and offer her my hand. She takes it gratefully and I pull her to her feet. I grab my dagger from the tree and stick it back into my small backpack.

"Do you have any supplies?" I ask. She frowns slightly.

"Not much," she replies. "Just a backpack with some food and an axe." My eyes widen slightly at the thought of her using an axe, but I shake it off and give her a small grin.

"That's not too bad. Though I wonder why the gamemakers supplied everyone with food and a weapon," I say. Auden gives me a serious look.

"It's because of the cornucopia," she says. "It's pretty much impossible to reach with hurting yourself, and they need some action in the games to satisfy the viewers in the Capital.

"Okay," I say. "Now that we've figured that out, what should we do now? We already have some water, but it won't last long. And we need a place to stay for the night." Auden nods and then heads over to the back of the tree, where she pulls out a backpack and axe from under some leaves.

"There should be water somewhere close by. The plants all seem pretty moist, and there's mud. As for where we'll sleep, I was thinking we could sleep n a tree," she says. I shudder at the mention of sleeping I trees.

"Ugh, actually, Auden," I say softly. "I can't really climb trees, and I hate heights." She blinks once and then sighs.

"Okay, then I guess we'll be sleeping on the ground. That's okay. Let's go find some water," she says gently. I nod and follow her through the trees. She seems to maneuver through them better and I do, and she's grown up in a forest so she knows how to find water. Sure enough, after a few minutes of walking, we reach the edge of a small stream. We both sit by the edge of the water and stare into its depths. It's not a very big stream, and isn't very deep, and the water is a perfect temperature.

"Do you think it's safe to drink?" I ask. Auden shrugs and reaches her hand into the water. She scoops up some water and brings it to her lips, tasting it.

"It tastes clean, and they didn't supply us with any purifiers, so I'm guessing it's safe to drink. I would drink the water they gave us first, though, just in case," she says. I nod reach my hand into the water, startling a fish I hadn't even seen.

"There's fish! It must be clean, or they would all die," I say, pleased at this new information. "Do you know how to fish, Auden?" She shakes her head sadly.

"I spent a little bit of time at the fish hook section during training, but they didn't tell us much about fishing," she says, kicking a small rock into the water and watching it get swept away. I take my backpack from around my shoulders and take out a piece of dried beef. I'm hungry from the heat and humidity of the forest, and now that we've found water we can take time to rest and fill up on food and water. Auden follows my actions, and we both drink some of our water before setting up camp. Auden clears out a space by the base of some trees near the stream, clearing it of twigs and branches. Then she takes a pile of leaves and spreads them all around so we won't be sleeping on mud. I wash my face with water and then Auden, since she's still covered in mud from head to toe, strips off her clothes and washes all the mud off while I keep watch on the trees.

"I'll keep watch first," I tell her when she's done. She just nods, obviously too tired to argue. I take a seat on a rock by the river, leaning with my back against a tree. She walks over to the ground where she set up earlier and lays down. Within seconds she's fast asleep, her breathing deep and even. My eyes scan the trees, but there's nothing unusual about it. A screen appears in the sky, and the anthem plays. There are no deaths today, and after the anthem the screen disappears, covering us in darkness once more. Only two deaths have happened in two days. The audience has to be itching for blood, and I'm sure the gamemakers have something planned for all of us. I'm not even sure if anyone else has made it out of the tunnels yet. Maybe we'll be safe because we're out here, and almost all the other tributes are in the caves. The gamemakers will find a way to bring them out here, and then the horror will really begin.

**Ok, that's it. I hope you like it, and can forgive me for the long wait. Also, I need some ideas of how the gamemakers can drive the tributes out of the caves, because I'm a little stuck on that. So please review with your ideas and what-not. Lastly, I'm going to be making a side story to this one showing all of the unseen deaths from those tribute's POV. I don't know when I'll start writing it, or what it will be called, but I'll let you guys know once I have it figured out. Thanks for reading!**


	20. Author's note

**Author's Note**

Hey guys! Yeah, I know, it's just a stupid author's not and not an actual chapter. Sorry… But I'm kind of stuck on the next chapter. Have I ever mentioned how much I hate writer's block? Anyway, I put up a new story, the companion to this one. It's called The Unseen Moments Of The 80th Hunger Games. I decided to write the first chapter of that story to see if it gave me any ideas for the next chapter of this story. It didn't, I'm sad to say… But, anyway, check it out! Ok, that's it for now. Thanks for being so patient you guys!


	21. Never Ending Waves

**Here's the next chapter! Hope you're not too mad at me for the long wait… Anyway, thanks to angel_unknown for helping me overcome my writer's block, and giving me the motivation to write this chapter. Thank you SO much, angel_unknown. You're awesome! Okay, on with the story. This chapter is in Jayla's POV.**

It's awfully boring in a cave. There's not much to see besides rock walls and giant crevices that seem to almost pull you towards them, threatening to pull you over the edge and to a horrific death at the bottom. Sure, there's a bat that will fly past every once in a while, but it's more scary than exciting, because you never know what the Capital could have done to it. It could be poisonous, or have super sharp, deadly fangs. Also, there's not much water, only the small drips that come from the top of the cave, creating a dripping sound that makes you have to go to the bathroom every ten minutes, no matter how little water you have in you. I hate it here, I really do. It would almost be better if there was some action, some fighting. Sighing, I stand up from my spot by the edge of the pathway we're on. Carlo and Rai, who are a few feet away, look up at me. We met up after the start of the games, and decided to become allies instead of killing each other. I don't really mind being allies with them, but they're so boring. They actually seem _glad _that everything's so calm. I sigh again. Maybe it's just me. After all, I should be glad to be relatively safe up here, and we can see all the other tributes that have gathered in this one cave, the only cave with light. The career pack, or at least the few that are in here, are all gathered around the edge of the crevice closest to the cornucopia. I don't know what they're planning, but I doubt it will work. Anyone can see that the only way to the cornucopia is by jumping from the ledge higher up, and even if you do make it, there's no way you'd be able to jump back. For one, no human is physically able to jump that far and high, and two, you would be seriously injured from a jump that big. And so, it's hopeless. I don't know why the gamemakers even added the cornucopia if no one can even reach it. It's kind of pointless, if you ask me.

"You okay, Jayla?" Carlo asks, concern rippling across his words. I frown for a second to myself at his stupidity. No, I'm not okay. We're stuck in a freaking cave, in the middle of nowhere, competing in the freaking _hunger games_. Of course I'm not okay. I shake my head to clear it. I know that's not what he meant, so why does it bug my so much? I've really got to get out of this cave. I put on my best smile and look down at him.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I say. "Just a little bored." He looks relieved that everything's alright, and I look out over the ledge again. Where are the rest of the careers? I know there was more of them, and that Emory guy, he seemed like a real brutal person. He could be close, maybe even lurking in the shadows on the far end of our ledge, just watching us. The thought gives me chills, and I can't help myself from glancing in that direction, just to make sure he's not there. Only two people are dead, and it's been two days. The viewers back home must be craving some action. What is the Capital doing? What do they have planned? Why are they making us wait so damn long? Rai stands up, too, and comes to stand next to me.

"What are you thinking?" he asks. "I can tell something's bothering you." I don't look at him, I can't. I'm not even sure if I can trust him, but we are allies, aren't we. And they've got to be thinking the same thing. I mean, I can't be the only one bothered by this, can I? It's silent for a moment. He doesn't push for an answer, just waits. Finally, with a long sigh, I turn to him, look right into his eyes. His eyes, I notice, are remarkably brown, so deep and full of understanding. They seem to see into your mind, your soul, and yet, they don't push, don't prod. They wait for an answer, and that's all they do.

"This suspense," I start, my voice soft, thoughtful. "This waiting, it's killing me. Why can't they just get on with it, instead of making us wait? And, I mean, the viewers back home must be itching for blood, for _something._" He doesn't say anything for a moment, just stares at me in wonder, his eyes thoughtful, worried. He understands. I can tell by the way his forehead creases, the way his mouth opens but no words come out. There's nothing to say, because we've both been thinking the same thing for so long. Carlo, seeing our exchange, gives us a weird look, and comes to stand next to us, too. Something bad is coming, we can all feel it. It makes my stomach twist in fear, because anything could happen. Anything could happen and we can't do a damn thing about it. It's silent as the three of us think this through in our minds. Even the water drops seem to fade away into the darkness. I feel myself starting to fall into that deep, dark abyss of dread, and try desperately to stay surfaced, because once you're under, there's no going back. By then, panic will set it, and panic can take over a person, make them do stupid things. Rai is just about to say something when the rumbling starts. It starts soft, barely perceptible, but it quickly get's more profound, greater in strength. The ledge starts to shake, and I make my way towards the center. Rocks start to fall, but only a few. People are screaming, running around. I'm holding back the impulse to do the same. Instead, I sink to my knees on the ground and press my hands over my ears, trying desperately to drown out the noise, the shaking. And then, all at once, the shaking stops. I remove my hands from my ears, and slowly make my way to my feet. Carlo and Rai are a few feet away, looking terrified, but otherwise okay. I let out a breath I hadn't known I was holding. It's alright. We're okay. We made it, and none of us are hurt. A smile starts to creep onto my face, and I'm about to laugh with joy when a piercing scream fills the cavern. I glance at Carlo and Rai, and without saying a word, we move together to the edge of our ledge, and peer down the side. Topaz, from district one, is screaming her head off. The other careers look horrified, staring at the cornucopia. I turn my gaze to the same spot, afraid of what I'll see, reading to run if I need to. There's water, flowing up the side of the crevice. It reaches the top, and then with a sudden force, it shoots out, creating a huge wave of water that sweeps along the bottom ledge of the cavern. The screaming stops as the careers are sucked under the waves. I'm frozen in place, staring in horror at the water's advance. Carlo and Rai are shouting at me to run, but I barely hear them. I'm not in the cavern anymore. I'm back in district nine, at a lake deep in the woods with my best friend, Maya and my older brother, Joss. We had gone swimming one day to escape the heat, and were having a blast until I looked over at where Joss was, and found he wasn't there. I searched all over the lake for him, but he was nowhere in sight. I screamed his name, and got no answer. Maya and I went home, thinking maybe he had left without telling us. When we got there, mom said he hadn't come home. My dad found him later, near the middle of the lake, his body floating on the water. No one blamed me, but I still felt like it was my fault. If I had been watching, I could have saved him. I haven't gone swimming ever since then, almost ten years. I don't know how to swim. I'm too out of practice. I had never been all that good of a swimmer to start with, and now this wave was coming towards me, and I couldn't move.

"Jayla!" Carlo screams, but I don't move. I _can't_ move. The wave is getting closer. We're all trapped. More screams are sounding throughout the cavern, screams of fear, of desperation. I try so desperately to hold on to reality, but I keep coming back to that day ten years ago. I'm barely aware of Carlo and Rai starting to run, leaving me behind to save themselves. That's ok. It will be better if only one of us dies and not all three of us. The waves reach me, knocking me off my feet and over the edge. I didn't even get time to take a breath. I choke on the water, trying to cough it back up, but more just comes down my throat. I can't breathe. My eyes start to water, and soon I'm crying, my tears lost with the waves. Why me? Why do I have to die? What did I ever do wrong? Death starts to grab at my feet, dragging my farther beneath the waves. I'm trying to fight it, trying _so_ hard, but I'm just not strong enough. My mind is searching for an answer to those questions. I need to know the answer before I die. _I need to know._ What did I ever do wrong? The answer comes to me in my final moments of life. Nothing. I did nothing and yet, here I am, dying, sinking deeper into an endless abyss of darkness, where all happiness is nonexistent. This is the end, and boy is it an awful one.

**There it is! Hope you like it! Remember to review. :)**


	22. All The Evils Of The World

**Hey everyone! Here's the next chapter. I know it's been a while since I've updated, but I haven't had a lot of time to write. Fortunately, my writer's block seems to have passed, at least for this chapter. Let's just hope the ideas keep on coming. This chapter is in Twerre's POV. Hope you like it, and please review!**

I open my eyes to bright sunlight, my body feeling like it's been through a blender and then dumped onto the floor below. Letting out a soft moan, I carefully sit up and look around. _Where am I? What am I doing here?_ It all comes rushing back to me. I'm in an arena. I'm in the hunger games. There was a wave, and it swept me up and carried me away. The last thing I remember is banging my head on a rock. Now, I'm in the middle of some huge clearing. I look at my hands, and see that they're all scratched up and red. They sting, too. I shift my gaze to my right, and see other tributes starting to wake, looking around in a daze. I'm surprised that I survived that. I thought for sure I was going to die. Slowly, the other tributes are starting to sit up, looking around themselves in confusion. And then the panic sets in. Tributes start to scream, standing up and running in every direction. Supplies from the cornucopia lays scattered around, untouched. I see a knife sitting about a foot from my left, and reach over to grab it, but someone else's hand gets there first. I look up and meet the cold, hard eyes of the boy from district two. My eyes go wide in fear, and I shove myself backwards, kicking at him with one of my legs. I catch him in the knee, and he cries out in pain, dropping the knife and grabbing his knee. It must be a weak spot of his. I use this moment of pain to stand up and start running. He calls after me, but I don't look back. I just keep running. Some of the other tributes are starting to fight now. Mostly the careers, but some, like the boy from nine, are also fighting. I see the boy from four crouched over the girl from district one. She won't wake up. The girl from district five falls to the ground from a knife wound in her shoulder. The boy from district one stands above her, ready to deliver the final blow, but the boy from four calls him over to where he is holding up the girl from district one. I see the girls from six and eleven run over to the girl from five, and carry her away into the woods. I head for the woods, too. As I run, I pass by several tributes that are still lying on the ground, not moving an inch. I know they're dead, but I still move cautiously around them. I jump over one girl just as she's waking up, and see her cough up a bunch of water. It's the girl from three. I stumble my landing, startled by her sudden movement, and trip over my feet onto the ground. She doesn't even look at me, just gets up and joins in the battle. Tributes are still screaming, some from fear, some from pain. I get back up and finally make it to the trees and run into their cover, branches whipping me in the face. Tree bark scratches my arms, and tugs at my jacket. It's a lot warmer out here in the forest than in the caves. I don't know how long I ran, and I would have kept going, too, if it wasn't for the steep cliff I nearly tumbled over. Seeing it just in time, I fell to the ground and skidded right to its edge. The drop below was dizzying, and I scrambled backwards as fast as I could, collapsing in a heap in a pile of soft grass. My throat was dry, and I was starting to regret not grabbing a backpack on my way here. There was so much stuff. I could have grabbed anything I wanted, but I was too scared. I close my eyes for a moment and try to steady my breathing. This is crazy. I can't be here. I don't want to be here. I'm going to die, just like my sisters. I hear a bird call above me, and open my eyes back up to see a colorful bird perched on a branch above my head. It looks strangely familiar, but it also looks out of place. A parrot, I think it was called, and parrots lived in rainforests, not deciduous forests, like this one. Even more stranger, it didn't have a beak. The spot under its eyes is flat. It tilts its head at me curiously, and then its beak appears from inside its head, sharp as razors, and almost as long as a notebook. I hold back the scream hat threatens to escape my throat, and carefully sit up. It's just one bird, after all. I start to walk back through the forest, and its eyes follow me, but it doesn't move. After I'm sure I'm far enough away, I start to run again, following the edge of the cliff. The sun is starting to set, and I need to find an open spot so I can see the faces of the tributes that died in the flood. After another hour of walking, I find a spot in between a group of trees, and sit down, my back against the trunk of a wide tree. The anthem plays, and then the faces of the dead tributes appear. First is the face of the girl from district one. She must have drowned in the flood. Then comes the boy from district three, and then the boy from district five. After that is the girl from district eight, and the girl from district nine. I'm not sure whether or not they died in the flood or the battle, and I'm not sure I want to know. That's a total of five people dead today, and added onto the other two people who died on the first day, it's a total of eight. Eight tributes dead, and sixteen more to go. There are only sixteen more tributes that have to die before I can go home. The trees around me start to become blurry with my tears. I miss home, my sisters, my life. I just know I'm going to die here, because my sisters did, and there were so much stronger than me in the first place. I hear the bird call again, and look up to see the parrot staring at me again. Its eyes look down into my soul, and then it lets out another call. Suddenly, there's a whole flock of the birds, covering the branches above my head. _It's okay, Twerre, _I tell myself._ They aren't going to hurt you. They might look mean, but that one from before didn't do anything to you, did it? _The first one calls out to the others, and their beaks appear from their heads, just as sharp and menacing as their leader's. They pause for a moment, and it's deathly silent, and then with a single call from the leader, the rest jump off their perches and fly straight for me. I scream, and run from them, the tears still falling. No. I can't die like this, not from these birds. I'm running as fast as I can, but the birds are faster. One cuts open my arm with its talons, which are just as sharp as its beak. I let out a shrill cry of pain, but keep moving through the trees. A branch whips across my eyes, leaving me momentarily blinded. My foot gets caught in a root and I fall onto my face. The birds swarm me, ripping away bits of my flesh. I scream as loud as I can, and I hear the echoes bounce off the trees. I keep screaming, and screaming, and screaming, and cry about how unfair it all is, and then I see a bright light in the distance. This is the end. I know it is. The light gets closer and closer, until finally it's on top of me, and the birds move back away from its light. I hear them fly away into the cover of the trees, and the face of a boy appears above my own. I don't know who it is, but they don't seem like they're going to hurt me. Their face seems sad, and they look around themselves to make sure no one else is around.

"Please," I whisper, but I'm not sure if he hears me. I don't even know what I'm asking for. Maybe for him to end my pain, or maybe for him to help me, but all he does is shake his head slowly. My eyes are still filling up with tears, and my back and arms and legs are on fire.

"Please," I say again, louder this time. "Help me." My voice sounds so fragile, so delicate. The boy just gives me another sad look, and then turns to walk away. "Please!" This time it comes out as a scream, and he lets out a choked sound, but he keeps walking. My eyes are becoming filled with black dots, and as another wave of pain consumes my body, I fall into darkness. I try to fight it, because I know if I sleep, I'll probably never wake up. But I'm so tired form all the running, the pain, the screaming, that I stop caring. I let myself sleep, and pray for no nightmares this time around. Just as I'm drifting off, I see the light above my head again, and the sad eyes of the boy as he sets his light down by my head, letting it ward off all the evils in the world.

**There you go! Finally, we have a little bit of action. Poor Twerre. Did you guys like my parrot mutations? They're nocturnal, and hate the light, so that's why they didn't attack her when they saw her during the day. And that's also why they fled from the boy's light. Sorry if I killed off your tribute in this chapter, but I can't make them all live forever. Anyway, review please!**


	23. Nowhere To Run

**Wow, I'm actually updating two days in a row. This must be a first for me, but I have a lot of free time this weekend, so I've decided to use this time to write, since I haven't been updating all that much lately. So, here you go. This one is in Aisling's POV. **

I wake in the morning to the noise of someone walking around. I open my eyes quickly, but it's just Shayla, picking through the backpacks we managed to grab during our escape. Everbloom is still sleeping. Her shoulder wound must have drained her of a lot of energy, because she's usually up at about the same time Shayla is. Shayla turns her gaze to me and notices I'm awake.

"Oh, good morning Aisling," she says with a small smile. "I was just seeing what we managed to grab." She tosses a packet of crackers to me, and I catch it, my hunger returning. I rip open the packet and devour two whole crackers before I realize that we need to save or food. I toss the pack back to Shayla, an apologetic look on my face, but she just laughs.

"It's okay. We need to eat," she says. She turns to Everbloom, and frowns. "Why don't you sort through the rest of this stuff while I wake up Bloomie?"

"Yeah, okay," I reply, getting up and walking over to the supplies. I cast a worried glance towards Everbloom before opening up the backpack Shayla hadn't sorted through yet. Inside were two bottles of water, some dried beef, a few apples, a pack of crackers, and a flashlight. The other backpacks contained less. One backpack only had a sleeping bag in it, and there was also the one Everbloom was lying on. That was it. It was a pretty good amount of stuff, but it wouldn't last long, maybe two or three days at most. I put everything back into their backpacks and then headed over to where Everbloom was just waking up. Unfortunately, the backpacks didn't contain any bandages, so I had given up my jacket for Everbloom to use. It wasn't the best, but it had stopped the blood flow. And it wasn't that cold out here anyway, except for at night, but even then it wasn't too bad.

"You okay, Bloomie?" Shayla asked her, placing her hand on her forehead to feel her temperature.

"I could be better," Everbloom replies. "But I'm pretty okay." Shayla takes her hand away and looks up at me.

"I think she has a fever, Aisling," she tells me, and then looks back down at Everbloom. "Do you think you can stand? We have food. You should eat."

"Yeah, I can walk," replies Everbloom. She sits up and looks around. "Do you think we'll be safe here?" I look around, too, and the small clearing we're in. A huge cliff shoots up to our right, looming above us and casting a silent shadow over us. I frown to myself. I have no idea if we'll be safe here, but at least it's better here than the caves, where everyone is so close together, though no one had any weapon anyway.

"I don't know, Bloomie," Shayla finally answers, and a bird calls out somewhere in the distance. "I'm sure we'll be safe for a little while." Everbloom stands up and me and Shayla lead her over to the backpacks.

"We have dried beef, apples, and crackers," I tell her, opening up the backpacks and taking everything out. "We also have some water, if you're thirsty." Everbloom grabs a bottle of water and takes a few sips.

"That's better," she says. "Is it just me, or is it really hot out here?" Shayla and I share a worried glance before turning back to Everbloom.

"Um, it's kind of warm, but not that bad," says Shayla. "Bloomie, I think maybe your fever is making you hot." Everbloom nods and then sighs.

"Yeah, you're probably right," she says, and then she sits down on the ground by my feet, her head in her hands.

"You okay, Bloomie?" asks Shayla, worry dripping off her voice. Everbloom doesn't answer, so I kneel next to her, and take her hand in mine.

"Blooms, you okay?" I ask, and she looks up at me.

"Yeah, I'm alright. I just hate being here. I miss home, and my arm hurts, and I think I might like one of the tributes, and you guys are my friends, and I don't want you to die, and I'm just so sick of it all!" she says, and I blink in surprise at her sudden outburst.

"Wait, did you just say that you like one of the tributes?" Shayla asks, and I look up to see her grinning. Everbloom blushes furiously, and looks down at her hands.

"It's none of your business," She says, looking back up at Shayla, but her face is still red. "Besides, I said I wasn't sure if I liked him or not." Shayla kneels down next to us.

"Come on, Bloomie. You can tell us. We won't laugh, will we Aisling?" she says, looking at me. I know Everbloom doesn't want to tell us, but I'm super curious, so I go along with Shayla.

"Of course we won't laugh at you, Blooms. We're friends, right?" I say. Everbloom frowns at us, and then looks back down at her hands.

"Fine, it's that guy from four, Jaze," she says quietly.

"Ooh, him?" says Shayla. "He's nice, and kind of cute, too." Everbloom looks up at her, frowning.

"Yeah, I guess. I'm just so confused. I mean, he's nice and stuff, but that's not why I like him. He saved my life during the battle. If he hadn't called over Titus, he would have killed me for sure," she says. I think back to the battle. I don't remember much. Shayla and I were running the whole time, trying to find Everbloom, and when we say her get hurt, we lost sight of everything else but her. We got to her so fast, I didn't even realize that Titus had left. The only thought in my head was to run, and that's what we did. After we went as far as we could, we just collapsed here and fell asleep. Now that I think about it, he did save her life. Shayla and I were fast, but not fast enough to stop him mid-strike.

"Oh my god, he did save you. I was so caught up in everything else, I never realized it, but you're right," I say.

"I guess we all are in his debt now," says Shayla, standing up. She holds out her hand to me and helps me up, then helps up Everbloom.

"We should keep walking," says Everbloom. Shayla and I nod our consent, each grabbing a backpack and heading towards the trees.

"We need to find water," says Shayla. "The two water bottles we have won't last long." I pull out the apples from my backpack and hand one to Shayla, and one to Everbloom. We eat as we walk, not really talking, at least not out loud. Shayla and I exchange a few glances, still worried by Everblooms condition. It's about mid-day when we finally stop. Shayla holds out her arm to block me and Everbloom walking, and then puts her finger to her lips to silence us. There are noises coming from the woods to our right. I brace myself for whatever horrible mutation is about to jump out of the trees, but it's not a mutation. It's the career pack, and they have weapons, lots of them. We're trapped. There's nowhere to go. I glance at Shayla and Everbloom, and then look over at the careers. They're frozen, looking just as shocked as we are, but not for long. A horrible, monstrous smile crawls onto the face of the boy from district two.

"Hello ladies," he says.

**Haha, cliff hanger! Review! Also, I've made a forum for this story called, The 80****th**** Hunger Games. You can talk about the story there with other people, so check it out! I hope you liked this chapter.**


	24. Why Does Everything Have To Be So Hard?

**Hey guys! Can you believe how often I'm starting to update? It's crazy, but since I always make you guys wait so long, I think it's time I start updating a little faster, especially when there's a cliff hanger, so here you go! For this chapter, I think I'm going to start switching POV's, because just one leaves so much out about all the other tributes. So, since I'm doing multiple POV's, this chapter is probably going to be pretty long, but I don't think you guys really mind all that much. **

**Also, I was on my story stats, and I saw that this story is in a community! That is so awesome you guys! Thanks so much for all the reviews and support you've given this story, and for sticking with it even with my terrible updating. That means so much to me, and I thank you guys all a million times for everything. The tributes are all amazing, and so easy to write. I never expected to have this be such a big thing. **

**One last thing before I end this incredibly long author's note. When this story is finished, I'm thinking about doing a sequel. What do you guys think? Should I? And if you don't have a tribute for this story, and are just reading it because you like it, then feel free to submit one for the sequel, and even if you do have a tribute for this story, feel free to submit for the that story, too. But first of all, I need to know what you guys think of that. So, really you guys, should I? **

**Remember to review!**

**Emory's POV**

The girls get a worried look in their eyes, and I let out a soft chuckle. The idiots didn't even hear us coming, well, at least not at first. Oh well. It's been a while since I've spilled blood, and I'm starting to get restless. That district twelve boy wasn't enough, and that stupid girl from his district just happened to hit my weak spot in her escape. I glance down at my weak knee in disgust. The stupid training wound never really healed all the way, and now it just gets in the way. The girl from six, Shayla I think her name is, stepped forward to block the district five girl from view. I smirked. The stupid girl didn't even have a weapon. My alliance members also took a step forward, drawing their weapons. I held up a hand to block them.

"Well, well, well, what have we got here?" I ask, taking a step towards the girls. The one from district five, the injured one, starts to shake a bit, breathing hard. I think the poor thing's having a panic attack. Oh well. It will only make matters easier for me.

"Stay back!" the district six girl says, and she puts her arms out wide to better protect the girl from five. So, I finally get to meet the famous Everbloom Montgomery, the girl Jaze talks about in his sleep. Too bad she's about to die, but I'm sure he'll get over it. I look back at him, and frown at the anguish in his eyes. He still hasn't figured out his priorities.

"Keep your head and heart in the game, Jaze," I say, and his eyes meet mine. I see his understanding, the fear of what I'm about to do.

"I call the one with the shoulder wound!" Titus calls out, stepping forwards again. "She's mine! It's time for me to finish what I've started." I see the glint in his eyes, and step aside to let him do what he pleases. He reaches Shayla, throws her out of the way, and grabs Everbloom by the neck, holding her up. She kicks her legs and lets out little choked screams. Titus takes out his knife, and is about to slide it up under her ribcage when the girl from twelve jumps on him. He staggers back, and she starts to claw at his face with her nails, drawing blood and screeching like an animal at the top of her lungs.

"Aisling!" Shayla screams, but it's too late. Titus has already slid his knife into her heart, and Aisling falls to the ground, lifeless. Her cannon goes off, and there's a tremendous sob from the girl from district five.

"No!" Everbloom sobs, and Titus steps towards her once again. This time it's Jaze who stops him. Titus's knife in taken out of his hands and stabbed into his side in a matter of seconds, and he falls to his knees, trying to stop the blood flow.

"You stay away from her!" Jaze growls, and then he kicks him in the head, knocking him out cold. Everbloom just stares at him, tears still falling down her face due to the death of her friend. The whole thing sickens me, and I move to grab Shayla, but she sees me coming and dodges my strike. She takes the knife from Titus's side, and he howls in pain as he tries to stop her, but she's too fast for him when he's injured. Jaze is picking up Everbloom, and she doesn't resist, which would be hard for her anyway, considering she's injured, suffering from a panic attack, and is balling her eyes out.

"Enough!" I shout, and everyone freezes, all at once. I walk forward and grab Vanny's hand, taking her with me over to where Jaze stands. "Put her down, and leave, or I'll kill Vanny right now. I'll do it!" Jaze looks from Everbloom to Vanny, and I see a tear slide down his cheek. He's sweating, beat up, and is about to start crying right here in the middle of the arena. Losers, all of them. I slide my knife across Vanny's throat and let her fall to the ground, bleeding to death. Jaze lets out a choked sound and takes a step back, while Vanny just sits there, unblinking. She can't be dead yet, for her cannon didn't go off, but she doesn't move, doesn't cry. She was worthless anyway, and only got in the way. I wouldn't miss her. I reached out to grab Kiwi, but she reacted so fast I didn't have time to react. She whipped her knife across my fingers, slicing them open and causing them to sting with pain. I see the horrified look on Gemma's face out of the corner of my eyes, and then she's gone, running away into the cover of the forest.

"Run, Jaze!" She shouts, bending down towards Vanny. "Take them away from here, but don't expect me to be nice to you the next time we meet!"

"Damn you!" I growl, watching them take off into the woods. I raise my own knife, and stand over Kiwi. She doesn't even look up at me, just smoothes back Vanny's hair and closes her eyes, and then I hear her cannon go off. She stands up and glares at me for a moment before sprinting off into the trees. I let her go, because really, I don't care anymore. They can run off and feel safe for a while, but eventually I'll get them, and then I'll be the one who's victorious. I walk away into the trees, the opposite way that Kiwi went, and find a nice log to sit down on. I examine my wounds, and curse that stupid, rotten girl from district four for my aching fingers. I wrap them up with a bandage from my backpack, and watch as the hovercraft comes and takes away the bodies of two more tributes. I hear Titus whimpering in the distance, but make no move to help him. He got himself into this damn mess; he can get himself out of it.

**Sayre's POV**

_I'm in the middle of a clearing. That much I know, but everything else is hazy. Where am I? _

"_Hello?" I call out, but there's no response. I take a small step forward, and the haze seems to clear, revealing the grassy meadow to me. What is this place? I take another step, and then another, so slowly I'm sure even a snail could beat me to the other end. The trees above block out almost all the sunlight. Only a small patch of light can be seen, directly in the middle of the clearing. There are flowers by my feet, and as I watch in amazement, they start to grow taller, sprouting thorns and leaves. They wrap around my arms, the thorns pressing into my skin, and I cry out in pain._

"_No!" I shriek, trying desperately to pull my arms free of their deadly grip, but they're too strong. I scream, tears threatening to fall. "Help me!" The bushes to my right part, revealing the horrible, terrifying face of President Snow._

"_Your time is up, girl," he hisses. "Time for you to join the rest of the dead tributes. Say hi to them for me, will you?" My eyes widen in fear as the flowers start to twist themselves around my legs._

"_Help me , please!" I say, but it comes out as a defeated whisper. I let the tears start to fall, because this really is the end, isn't it? The plants start to climb up my torso, wrapping themselves tightly around my stomach. I can barely breathe, but President Snow watches me with a gleam in his eye, laughing at my predicament. Thorns are poking into my skin, all over my body. I fell one sink itself into my eye, causing me to cry out again. All that's left is my mouth. As I sit there, immobile, blind, deaf, I feel the stems press over my lips, silencing me. I scream again, but it never reaches my lips. It stays clogged deep in my throat, taking up the rest of the little air I had, and making me gasp for air, but nothing comes in. I sink to my knees on the ground, and in the background, I can still hear President Snow's laughter._

I sit up, shrieking like a banshee. The tears continue to slide down my cheeks as I try to get a hold of reality. _It was just a dream,_ I tell myself. _Nothing more than a dream._ But the thought of those horrible plants causes me great fear, and so I let myself just sit there in silence for a few more minutes. When my breath finally becomes more even, and my heart starts pounding in my chest, I force myself to stand up. My throat is dry and sore for all the screaming I'd been doing in my sleep, and I'm exhausted despite the sleep I've had. My back aches, my stomach is twisted in hunger, and I'm still shaking from the nightmare. _Get a hold of yourself, Sayre,_ I think to myself. _You always have these kinds of dreams. Why does it bother you so much all of a sudden? _ It takes me a few minutes of walking to finally figure out the answer that's fogging up my brain. I'm afraid that someone heard me screaming. They could find me, kill me, or at least hurt me, and it would be easy, too, considering the state I'm in. I stretch my arms above my head to loosen the muscles, and then bend to the side to crack my back. That's better. Now all I need to do is find a source of water. I close my eyes for a moment, taking a few deep breaths, and in one, clean movement, I wipe the dream from my mind. It's no use thinking about things like that. It will only get me killed, or make me confused, and that's no good in the arena. The sun is partially hidden by the tall trees of the forest, but I feel safe under their cover.

Half way through the day, I stumble over a root on the ground, and find myself falling into a clearing. The sound of rushing water makes me snap my head up, and right before my eyes, sure enough, is a river. Its waters flow through the trees, creating erosion around the bases of the trees closest to its edge. I hear a small gasp, and look to my right to see a small girl standing not twenty feet away. It's the girl from district seven, Auden, and she's staring at me in horror. I slowly sit up, and raise my hands out in front of me in a friendly gesture. Her eyes meet mine, and she freezes in their gaze, trying to read my thoughts through the way I'm looking at her. I make a move to stand up, but a sharp pain shoots through my arm, causing me to scream. A sword sticks out of my lower arm, cutting right through the flesh and out the other side. Auden and I both look up in shock to see the boy from district nine running at us. I grip the sword in one hand and quickly get up to run away, but he runs straight into me, farcing me to the ground and ripping out the sword. Tears fill up my eyes. He holds the sword up to my neck, and Auden starts screaming.

"Stop! Stop!" she shrieks, bursting into tears at the sight of me about to be killed. I've stopped breathing. His elbows are poking into my sides, causing me great discomfort. "Please, don't do it!" The boy from nine sits up, his weight leaving me, and looks over to Auden.

"Why should I?" he snarls, and she's so frightened she doesn't say a word. "This girl was trying to kill you!" Auden shakes her head quickly.

"No, she was just as scared as I was. She didn't mean me any harm," she says, and the boy from nine grunts. There are footsteps behind us, and he looks back over his shoulder to see who it is. I can't see who it is over his body, but Auden's face lights up. The boy turns to me again, and holds the sword to my throat once more.

"You harm a hair on this girl's head, and I'll kill you. Understand?" he asks, and I nod my head in reply. "Take care of them. Make sure they're safe." Then he runs full speed into the forest, disappearing from view. My arm throbs, but I force myself to sit up. Auden looks down at me, her eyes wide.

"Don't worry. Everthing's going to be okay," she says. "Graeden's coming." She then turns to face the boy who's running towards us, and I can see tears streaming down his cheeks. Auden frowns, and rushes over to him.

"What?" I mutter to myself. I'm so confused. Why did that boy want me to protect these two? Why did I have to take care of them?

"Graeden! What happened? Why are you crying?" Auden asks him, tackling him in a hug. Graeden glance at me before turning back to Auden. He opens his mouth to speak, and then instead falls to his knees on the ground, sobbing into his hands. Auden gets a worried look in her eyes, and kneels down next to him, resting a hand on his back, looking unsure what to do. I crawl over to them and place my hand on the boy's forehead, searching for fever, but his forehead doesn't even have a little warmth to it. He's freezing cold, goosebumps running up his arms, and he's shivering violently. He flinches at me touch, and looks up into my face for a moment before wrapping his arms around me in a tight embrace. I blink my eyes in shock and let him stay there until he calms down. After all, he's still just a kid. So am I, but I mean, he's so young, only twelve, and he has to compete in these horrible games just like the rest of us.

"You okay, sweetie?" I ask, thinking it's the right thing to do, but not entirely sure. At home, my little sisters used to always come by me when they were upset, and wrap their arms around me like this boy is doing, and I would rub their backs and assure them everything was okay until they calmed down. But I don't know this boy, and have no idea what he wants me to do, so I just let him cry it all out. When he finally calms down, he looks up at me with big eyes, tinted red from his crying.

"What happened, Graeden?" Auden asks, resting a hand on his arm in confort. The boy, Graeden I guess his name is, doesn't answer right away. He takes a big breath and looks down at the ground before speaking.

"I was out looking for wood like I said I would," he starts quietly. "I heard a scream, and went to investigate. There was a girl there, covered in all these colorful bird things, and they were ripping her apart with their beaks. They flew away from the light I was holding, and I was so scared, Auden. She was so bloody and hurt, and I thought at first that she was dead, but then she said something. At first I didn't know what it was, but then she said it again, and that time it was louder. She begged me to help her, and I just left her there." He looks up at me, as if I would scold him for his acts. Tears are starting to pool in his eyes again. "I left her! She was dying, and I chose not to help her! I just walked away, and then I went back and placed the light next to her to keep the birds away. I don't even know if she saw me. She was closing her eyes, about to die, but I didn't hear her cannon go off. Does that mean she's still out there somewhere? Did I just leave her to die?" No one speaks, and he looks from me to Auden In desperation. "Answer me!" It's completely silent, because no one knows what to say to the other. Graeden lets out a scream of sorrow, and I pull him to me to silence him. I feel his tears leak through my jacket as his body starts to shake again, and I close my eyes and cry with him. Why does everything have to be so hard?

**Okay, I think I'll stop here for today. I think I'll stick to just two POV's per chapter, to make it easier on me, and so you don't get confused as to what's going on. I think I might have made Graeden horribly out of character, but his experience seems like it would cause that reaction out of him. Feel free to tell me if you disagree. Review, please?**


	25. When We Fall

**So, I got a review asking me to post all of the remaining tributes, so here it is! After the list will be the next chapter, so you can just skip the list if you so desire. Does anyone else find it amazing how fast I'm updating all of a sudden? It's a miracle my writer's block has disappeared for this long, though I can't say I'm complaining. I love having a whole bunch of ideas, and I'm really starting to get into the story. So, here is the list.**

**Titus Bronze: D1 male**

**Gemma Barnes: D2 female**

**Emory Blackwell: D2 male**

**Kiwi Bolderdash: D4 female**

**Jaze Finn: D4 male**

**Everbloom Montgomery: D5 female**

**Shayla Flint: D6 female**

**Carlo Severino: D6 male**

**Auden Grace: D7 female**

**Rai Ornel: D7 male**

**Graeden Kerren: D8 male**

**Kesar Henry: D9 male**

**Sayre Margrave: D 10 female**

**Dakota Cameron Browning: D11 male**

**Twerre Nightngale: D12 female**

**Wow, still 15 more to go! I can't believe how many tributes there are still, though this is a rather calm games. Well, sort of calm, at least. Anyway, on to the chapter! Review, please.**

**Dakota's POV**

I twist the leaf on my necklace between fingers, trying to figure out what I should do now that I'm out of the caves. My aunt had given this necklace to me for my third birthday, and I had decided that I'd wanted it for my token, because it's special to me. I was hoping it would give me strength to win these games, but all it's done is make me miss home. A sigh escapes my lips and I look down at my feet. What am I doing here? When I was younger, my best friend Falcon was chosen for the games, and he died. Ever since I had been training, just in case I was chosen, so that if I was, I could win the games for him. But I'm only fifteen! How on Earth am I going to win? I sit up from my seat of a log, and start to walk through the forest. It's no use sitting around and starving to death. My stomach rumbles in protest, and I groan to myself. I was so stupid! There was so much food just lying around after the flood, but I was too afraid of being killed to grab any. I kick at a small rock and it goes rolling into the bushes to my right. There's a soft scraping noise, and then nothing at all. Curious, I make my way over to the bushes and push them aside. What I see makes me jump back a foot, letting the bushes fall back into place. Just on the other side of those plants, there's a huge drop off. It goes straight down, all the way to a small lake below. How big is this stupid arena? First the caves, then the forest, and now this! Cautiously, I step forward and once again push aside the bushes. My feet feel around the edge of the cliff, looking to see if it's stable. It seems okay, so I sit down, my feet dangling over the edge. I watch as birds fly down below. There are some weird animals near the edge of the lake, drinking from it. I lean forward slightly and squint my eyes to see better. What are they? They're huge, gray creatures, with long noses and sharp horns. My memory sparks at the sight of them, but I just can't place their name. _Come on, Dakota,_ I think to myself. _You can remember. _

Suddenly, there's a rustle from behind me, making me bolt up to my feet. I turn my back to the cliff, staring towards the trees. A growl reaches my ears, angry and menacing. My feet reach back to take a step away, and I'm immediately reminded that there's nothing to step back onto. I'm trapped. The bushes across from me rustle again, and I search around me desperately for something, _anything_ to use as a weapon. A loud roar comes from the bushes, and then the thing inside them jumps out from behind their cover. The creature resembles a cat, and is huge. It's orange, covered in black stripes. This one I know. It's a tiger, an animal I've seen on previous games, but this isn't the kind of forest they live in. What is a tiger doing here? It walks towards me slowly, its tongue sliding over its lips hungrily. I can't take my eyes off of it. I'm so scared, and my body is shaking, and I'm realizing that this is how I'm going to die. What an awful way to go, being ripped apart by some huge cat.

It starts to run at me, and a scream is making its way to my throat, and then I'm being thrown over the edge of the cliff. The scream releases itself from the depths of my throat, burning with its intensity. My arms reach out to grab anything they can, and I end up hitting my arm on a rock jutting out of the cliff, hard. I feel the bone break, and cry out in pain. The tiger is hanging onto the ledge of the cliff, trying to pull itself back up.

"I hope you die!" I scream up at it, tears being ripped from my eyes by the sharp wind that's flying all around me. "I hope you fall off the cliff and die!" My throat is dry from lack of water, and my screams only bring new pain. Suddenly, the name of the weird gray creatures pops into my head. Elephants, they're called. My body hits the concrete hard water of the lake, and I'm ripped from this life so fast I don't have time to even feel the pain.

**Carlo's POV**

Rai and I walk quietly through the trees, searching for water. We managed to grab a backpack on our way out of the battle, but the water inside won't last long. It's already about half way empty, and we're starting to feel the effects of dehydration.

"How long do you think we've been walking?" I ask Rai, and he looks over to me, his features thoughtful.

"I'm not sure. Maybe an hour," he replies. I sigh and stop where I am. We walked all day yesterday, and have walked today pretty much since we woke up. My legs are sore, my stomach is growling, and the loss of Jayla is still hanging over my head. She wasn't the nicest person, but she was good company. Rai walks a few more steps before realizing that I'm no longer by his side. He turns and looks back at me, understanding filling up his eyes. He comes back to me and sits down.

"Why don't we rest for a while?" he says, and I sit down beside him. It's quiet, and the silence only dampens my mood.

"We should have saved her," I say finally, my voice soft and accusing, but I'm not accusing Rai. No, I'm blaming myself for not trying harder. The memory of the waves comes to my mind, and I close my eyes to try and block out the image, but it stays. I see the wave coming, me pulling on Jayla's arm, us leaving her behind, the wave sweeping her up and throwing her over the edge of the ledge. I'm brought back to reality from Rai shaking my shoulder.

"Carlo, it's not your fault," he says softly. I push him away and stand up, continuing to make my way through the trees. Rai calls after me, but I don't stop, and eventually he catches up to me. We continue to walk in silence, the leaves above our heads swaying with a soft breeze that's impossible to feel from down here, on the ground. Instead, the heat sits between the trees, making us sweat.

"Do you think she's mad at us?" I ask softly, after a while of walking. Rai doesn't answer right away. He kicks at an acorn on the ground, making it shoot out in front of us.

"No," he says finally. "I think she knew she was going to die, and I don't think she would have wanted us to die, too." There's a sharp pain on the back of my neck, and I bring my hand up to investigate. My hand presses down on something soft, squishing it under the weight of my hand. I pull my hand back in disgust, and see the remains of a spider crushed into my hand. The skin around the bite mark stings.

"Eew," I say, wiping the guts off onto my pants.

"What happened?" Rai asks.

"Some spider just bit my neck. How does it look?" I ask him. He slows to a walk behind me and studies my neck carefully.

"It seems okay, though it's really red, and I think it's starting to swell up," he says. "Hmm, maybe it's not okay." I stop abruptly, causing Rai to run into me.

"It can't be that bad, can it?" I ask, panic starting to set in. "You don't think it was poisonous, so you?" Rai makes his way to stand beside me, rubbing his forehead.

"I don't know, Carlo," he says, sighing. "But I guess we're going to find out." I nod my head and continue to walk, because really, there's nothing else I can do. _Please don't let it be poisonous, _I find myself thinking. _Please, please, don't let it be poisonous._ A sharp pain shoots through my body again, and the bite mark throbs. I reach up to rub my neck, only to find that it's oozing blood. I let out a surprised shriek and wipe my hand on my pants again quickly. Rai's eyes widen in surprise.

"Oh my god," I hear him mutter.

"No! This can't be happening! What's going on?" I say, my words coming out childlike and scared. A horrible, fire hot liquid shoots through my body, causing me to fall to the ground in pain. Rai stands above me, horror showing on his face.

"Carlo, are you okay?" he asks, but I can't answer him. I let out a scream as my body spasms, my arms and legs feeling like they're about to burst. There's a horrible, excruciating pain that rips through my body all at once, and then all feeling disappears. I sit up and look up at Rai, my eyes narrowing.

"What are you doing here?" I spit at him, rising to my feet and jumping on him, knocking him to the ground.

"Carlo?" he asks, his eyes wide in fear. "Carlo, what are you doing?" I grab a rock from the ground to my right, and examine it in my hand. This should do. I bring the rock high up above my head and then bring it back down, smashing it into his noise. There's a snapping sound, and he calls out in pain. I raise it up and bring it down again and again, his screams ripping through the forest. With one last, forceful movement of the rock, he lies still on the ground under me. My spider bite stings, and then freezes, and then all at once it goes away. I blink once, and it's as if a huge, hazy cloud removes itself from my brain. Something wet flows over my hands, and I look at them in shock, blood staining the skin. I move my gaze down to Rai, and almost scream at the sight of him. His face is broken, crushed, blood pouring out of his nose and eyes. I shake my head in disbelief. No. What have I done?

"Rai?" I ask, my voice breaking. "Rai! Oh god, Rai, I'm so sorry! It wasn't me! I didn't know what I was doing! Rai!" He doesn't answer, and somewhere in the distance a cannon goes off, signaling his death. I feel the tears start to come, so I push myself away from his body, and run away through the trees, not even bothering to take the backpack. My feet hit te edge f a rock, and I fall to my face on the ground, my tears mixing with the dirt. I don't get back up.

**There you are! This chapter is kind of gruesome, isn't it? So, I guess you can remove Rai and Dakota from the list of surviving tributes. Anyway, review! Please, I need to know what you think of this chapter especially, because I really don't think I did all that great of a job on this one, but maybe it's just me. **


	26. Safety

**Next chapter! I'm starting to run out of ideas, but I'm sure I'll come up with something after these next few chapters. I already have most of the deaths figured out, and who kills who, so all I have to do is write it, and luckily it's now the weekend, so I have lots of time! Please review and let me know what you think!**

**Jaze's POV**

Sweat runs down my face, a mixture of fear and excitement. We did it! We got away! Now all we have to do is stay hidden, an impossible task in itself. Emory will be searching for us for sure, and there's no telling who else. I glance over to Everbloom, and my stomach does a flip. Even with her shoulder wound, her hair in a complete mess, tears streaming down her face, she's impossibly beautiful. Her curly blond hair falls around her shoulders, and her ice blue eyes catch the light just right, making them shine like tiny jewels. Or maybe it's just me, a very likely possibility. Nothing she can do will ever make her less beautiful, but then again, I'm biased.

"So what do we do now?" Shayla asks, turning her face to me as we run. I frown, my thoughts a jumble of emotions.

"I don't know," I reply. "We have to find a place to stay. I don't think Everbloom can run much longer." We both look to Everbloom, who's struggling through the undergrowth of the forest, her feet catching on every root, rock, and stump. She's crying so hard I doubt she can see where she's going, and clutching at her shoulder. She hasn't complained once, but I think that's mostly due to the shock of our recent experience. Shayla nods her consent, and moves closer to me as we run, already putting her full trust in me. I would be slightly flattered if it wasn't for the insane fear clouding up my mind, that and my attraction to Everbloom.

"There has to be somewhere we can rest around here," Shayla says, her eyebrows wrinkling in thought. We run for another good ten minutes before we find a suitable place. It's a cliff, going straight up, so high you can't even tell where it ends. Up a few feet, easily climbable, there's a decent sized cave dug into the rock. It's the perfect place to rest and stay hidden in for a while, at least until we are strong enough to leave. Shayla lifts herself up onto the ledge, and let's down her hand for Everbloom to take, but she doesn't even realize what's going on. Shyly, I grab her around the waist and lift her up to Shayla, who grabs her arms and pulls her to safety. I climb up after Everbloom, glancing at the trees, praying that no one's been watching us through their cover. Once inside the cave, the air cools down, and Everbloom goes and sits in a corner, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. She's taking deep breaths, trying to calm herself. I want so badly to go and over and comfort her, but I don't know how, or if she would even want me to. Instead, I take a seat by the opening of the cave, my back against the wall, and look out over the trees. Shayla takes a seat next to me, and rests her chin on her knees. It's silent for a moment, and I glance over at her, but she keeps on staring ahead, out into the forest.

"Why did you save us?" she asks finally, looking up at me with her caramel brown eyes, her voice soft. I look down and away from her, unable to meet her gaze. What would she think if I told her I saved them just to make sure Everbloom wouldn't die? I don't know if I can tell her the truth, not with Everbloom sitting behind us, most likely listening in on our conversation. When I finally look back up at her, I try to tell her through my eyes that I can't tell, that there's just no way I could let out my secret, and she seems to understand, maybe even a little too well. She turns away to look out at the trees again, not pushing the issue any further, but Everbloom is more persistent. She comes to sit next to me, her tears dried on her face. I feel my heart stop for a second at her closeness, but then force myself to relax. _She's just like any other girl,_ I tell myself. _And she doesn't even like you back, so get over it!_

"I want to know," she says, turning to face me, a serious look on her face. "Tell me, why did you save us? Why did you go against the careers, your alliance?" I bite my lip, trying to find some excuse. I'm taking too long, because she's starting to frown. She's just about to get up and leave when I finally blurt out an answer.

"Because it was the right thing to do!" I say quickly, not wanting her to move away from me. She studies me for a moment before scooting closer to Shayla, who wraps her in a hug. I know it must have been hard for them to lose their friend today. They seemed pretty close. Giving them some space, I get up and head over towards the back of the cave, feeling like I'm intruding on something. I hear Everbloom start to cry again, my heart breaking at the sounds of her sobs. Shortly after Shayla joins in, though not nearly as loud as Everbloom.

"It's all right, Bloomie," I hear her mutter. "She's in a better place now. She's safe." And in that moment I realize something, something important. Shayla would give her life to protect Everbloom, and she was prepared to do it, too, before Aisling took matters into her own hands. I know, because I would do the same thing. If it came down to it, I would give my life for either of them, even Shayla, because I know if she died, Everbloom might not be able to handle it.

"J-jaze?" I hear Everbloom call after a while. I look up at her, her face once again wet with tears, but better now.

"Yeah?" I say, my voice coming out shakier than I wanted it to, but she doesn't seem to notice.

"Do you think we'll be safe here?" she asks. "I mean, no one will find us, right?" Shayla meets my gaze and sends me a signal with her eyes, telling me not to worry her.

"No one is going to find us," I say. "We're going to be just fine. I'll keep you safe." Everbloom just nods, too exhausted to really think hard about my words, but Shayla meets my eyes, a small smirk on her face, causing me to blush. Thank god it's starting to get dark, because I don't think I could ever live it down if Shayla saw me blush.

"I think you should sleep, Bloomie," Shayla says. "You deserve some rest. Jaze and I will keep watch." Everbloom doesn't argue. She moves to the back of the cave and lies down, using one of the backpacks as a pillow, too tired to bother to use a sleeping bag. I move to where Shayla sits, and it's silent for a long time. It's not until Everbloom's breaths become even and soft that Shayla speaks, and her voice come out as a whisper.

"You like her," she says. It's not a question, but a statement, a fact, and I have to close my eyes in defeat. I wasn't being that obvious was I? "She likes you, too." My eyes snap open and I turn to her.

"What?" I ask, sure I've heard her wrong, but she just grins.

"I said she likes you, too," she says. "Well, technically she said she's not sure, but believe me, she does." I don't know what to say to that, so I just keep quiet for a while, and it's silent again for the longest time.

"How did you know?" I say finally. "I mean, how did you know I like her?"

"I'm a girl, Jaze," she says. "We know these things." She laughs quietly. "But seriously, you make it kind of obvious, well, at least to everyone but Everbloom."

"But, what gives it away?" I ask, starting to get frustrated.

"Well, for one, you've saved her life more than once," she says. "Which I've never thanked you for, so, thanks. Also, it's just the way you act around her. You can barely even talk to her, and I saw you staring at her when we were running away." I blush fiercely, glad for the dark.

"What does it matter if I like her? It's not like anything's going to happen between us, anyway. This is the hunger games. There's no time for love," I say.

"What does that have to do with anything? Just because we're in the games doesn't mean you can't spend your last days happy. Everbloom deserves to be happy, Jaze, and so do you. You have to live the life you have left," she says. I open my mouth to protest, and then realize that she's right.

"She'll pretend that she doesn't like me," I say. "You know that. She knows that it's no use getting attached to someone in the games."

"Maybe," she says. "But maybe if you get to know her better, then she'll open up to you." There's the sound of a bird chirping in the distance, and Everbloom rolls over where she lays. "Just don't break her heart, Jaze. She's already lost so much." _We've all lost a lot,_ I think. _But at least I'm not alone. At least I know she likes me back._

**Auden's POV**

I watch Graeden as he tries to fish, gathering the berries at the edge of the tree line. He has a look of deep concentration on his face, a poorly made net in one hand. I sigh to myself and look back at the berry bush in front of me. They're blackberries, and there's a ton of them, just waiting to be picked. There's a shout from Graeden as he lunges for a fish and misses, again. Sayre is sitting at the edge of the water, giving him advice, though she hardly knows how to fish herself. My jacket is almost filled with berries, so there will be enough for all three of us, and there's still more left on the branches. I can't think of a better place to stay during the games. There's fresh water, berries, and fish, though we can pretty much count fish out, considering none of us can fish.

"Why don't you let me try?" I hear Sayre suggest, and as I head back to them, my jacket overflowing with fruit, Graeden topples into the water, getting soaked. Sayre stands up to help him, but I can't help but laugh.

"You should really try to be more careful, Graeden," I call to him, and he glares at me from where he sits, waist deep in water.

"No funny, Auden," he says as Sayre helps him up.

"What happened anyway?" I ask. "How come you fell into the water?"

"That stupid fish got caught in my net!" he says, glaring into the depths of the river. "It was a big one, too, pulled me right into the water." I set down the berries with a grin, and grab the net from him.

"Let me try," I say, and he just sits down with a sigh while Sayre offers him her jacket to help him dry off. He's still grumbling to himself, something about a demon fish. The water is clear, so clear that you can see the pebble on the bottom, and fish swimming by every so often. _This doesn't seem too hard,_ I think to myself. _All you have to do is wait until a fish comes by, and then grab it with your net._ But it's a lot harder than it looks. The fish keep swimming out of the holes in the net, which are way too big for fish this size. After another few minutes I accept defeat, and drop the net on the ground, letting out an exasperated sigh.

"It's okay," Sayre says. "We can just eat the berries you've picked, Auden." I nod and sit down next to her, my eyes resting on the wound in her arm, the wound Kesar inflicted on her. I'm still confused as to why he would want to protect me. I mean, what did I ever do to deserve his protection? And Sayre did _not_ deserve to be hurt like that. She was just as scared as I was, and never intended to hurt me. I feel safe with Sayre here, like we finally have someone to protect us, though I know if it came down to it, she wouldn't be able to protect us, much less herself. It's not that she's not strong, because she is., but she's just one person, and there are a lot of people in the games that are a lot stronger than her, a lot stronger than _us._ All we can do is hope that nobody finds us, at least not for a while. I look at Graeden, who's shivering despite how warm the weather is, and my stomach twists in fear for all of us. I can't even imagine Graeden dying, leaving this world forever. I can't imagine him not being there. I don't know what I would do if he were to die, but I know I wouldn't last long without him. Without him and Sayre, I'm all alone in these games, something I'm not sure I could handle. Sayre takes a sip of water from the river, and catches me looking at her.

"What is it, Auden?" she asks, studying me closely. I shake my head and turn my gaze to the river, watching all the fish swim by, mocking us. I would give anything to have fresh meat. _Anything_ would be better than eating just berries all day. My stomach growls, but I refuse to eat. It's better to save the food we have, because if it runs out, we're screwed. I feel a hand on my shoulder and jump, startled, but it's just Sayre.

"I'm fine," I say quickly, but she doesn't remover her hand, and gradually I begin to calm down. My eyes suddenly feel heavy, and I realize I haven't slept in days, even when Sayre was keeping watch. I've been too afraid to go to sleep, because I'm afraid that when I wake up, there won't be anyone but me, and that I'll be all alone. I hold back the yawn that tries to push its way up my throat, and close my eyes, leaning against Sayre's shoulder. Gently, she picks my head up and rests it in her lap, which I have to admit is a lot comfier than leaning agaist her shoulder, and it probably is better for her, too. I don't sleep, though, just rest, listening to the steady beat of Sayre's heart. She brushes the hair out of my face, and it reminds me of my mother, and how she used to do the same thing when I was little. My mother's engagement ring is in my pocket, my token for the games. My father died before I was born, crushed by a tree, which resulted in my mother going into premature labor, and causing me to be smaller than usual. _What an awful way to die,_ I think. Being crushed by a tree must be so painful, so agonizing. But a lot of things in this world are, and there are much worse ways to die, like being cut open by the careers, or dying from an infection caused by a swollen wound. I open my eyes again to stare at Sayre's wound, and I'm suddenly so much more afraid of how bad it could be. What if she dies from it getting infected? What will Graeden and I do then? Sayre brushes my hair back again, and my eyes automatically close. For a while, I'm back in my home in district seven, the wind whistling through the trees as my mother calms me with her gently stroking of my hair. For a while, I'm happy again, safe again, without a single worry to infect my mind. I don't remember drifting off into sleep, but when I do, I only feel relief.

**There it is! It was a more laid back chapter. No killing this time, but there will be killing in the next chapter, so don't worry! Remember to review!**


	27. New Aspirations

**Kesar's POV**

My feet move silently over the ground, the trees swaying in a soft breeze. The air is getting warmer everyday, and sweat covers my body as I walk, making my clothes stick to my skin. The grass is starting to dry up from lack of rain, and it wilts pathetically to the ground. I can't help but be reminded of all the children in these games who are going to have to wilt like the grass, sinking to the ground in their moment of death. In the end, they'll just be as plain as grass, as pathetic. They won't be remembered, not unless they do something memorable, not unless they grow into something more than just grass. That little girl, Auden, I want her to win. I want her to win so bad it took all my self control to leave her with that girl, the one I injured, the one I was prepared to kill. I would have done it. For Auden, I would have. It would have just been one less tribute in my way to victory, but I couldn't do it, not with Auden pleading with me not to. I try not to think of what could happen if it was just me and her in the end, if we had to kill the other. Would I let her win, or would I kill her so I could go back home to my mother. Our family has already lost so much. I'm the only one my mother has left, and if I died, she would be all alone. I could never do that to her, not after my little sister, Penny, died in last year's games. The wound that was inflicted upon our family is still painful. I need to be there for her, to take care of her. I need to kill the girl tribute from district five, like I've already killed the boy from that district. Penny was killed by the district five tributes in her games, and now I need to get revenge. The boy was easy. He was already unconscious from the flood. All I had to do was deliver the final blow, and I did.

There's a soft moan somewhere to my left, and I stop in my tracks. It's quiet, but I know I heard something. It could have just been an animal, but it sounded so human, so much like- I stop myself, unable to replay the rest of the memory in my head. With a sigh, I head towards the direction that the moan came from. It didn't sound too far away. My eyes sweep around the trees, knowing that it's stupid to even want to see what happened. She's already dead, I know she is, and a sinking feeling fills up my stomach. I need to get to her, to tell how much I need her, how much she needs to _live._ My legs start to move faster, jumping easily over logs and rocks. I dodge one last tree and then there she is. There she is, just lying there on the ground, her body stained red with blood, her eyes closed, her features pained. I kneel down next to her, tears starting to gather at the edges of my eyes. I lift her head up onto my lap.

"Penny," I whisper, and her eyes open, and it's not Penny. It's not her, and I drop her head onto the ground, backing away from her, from the memories that attempt to consume me. _Penny is dead,_ I remind myself. _She's gone. _The girl who lies there is not my sister.

"Help me. Please," she whispers, and I can see how much the movement pains her. Her back is torn, oozing blood, the wounds deep and deadly. Her eyes are drooping, and she can't even lift her head off the ground. I recognize her then. It's Twerre, the female tribute from district twelve. She's dying, I can tell. Even if I could somehow help her, she's lost too much blood. Shaking my head, I make my way to my feet and turn to go. The girl lets out a shaky sob, and I stop in my tracks. I can't leave her here to die all alone, not like Penny was left to die. I sit down a few feet away from her and just watch her cry, watch as her body is slowly drained of blood, as her life draws to an end. After a while, she notices me still sitting there, sees me watching her, making no move to help her. Her eyes lock onto mine, and caught in my gaze, the life leaves her eyes. She lets out one lasts shaky breath, and then her eyes close, and I know she's dead. Standing up quickly, I move away so that the hovercraft can remove her body, the cannon going off. I feel sick. I failed to save her, just like I failed to save Penny, but at least I still have a chance to redeem myself. If Auden makes it out alive, maybe I'll finally be at peace.

**Titus's POV**

I open my eyes to bright sunlight, my throat dry. My side is on fire, the knife wound throbbing in pain. Every breath I take brings on a whole new wave of pain. I clench my teeth together, and curse Jaze under my breath. What is that damn kid's problem? This is the hunger games! You're supposed to kill people! I try to sit up, but my side hurts too much to move very far. Taking a deep breath, I force myself to my feet, the pain threatening to knock me to my knees. Holding back the blood flow, I walk a few steps over to the backpack that was left in the scramble. There's a whole roll of bandages, and I lift up my shirt to reveal the wound, a bloody mess. The bandages sting as they reach the sensitive skin around the knife wound, but at least it helps hold in some of the blood. It takes a few minutes to get the bandages all the way around my waist and tied tightly, but when I'm finally done, I sink to my knees again on the ground, my breath coming out in shaky pants. If I ever see Jaze again, he's going to regret ever doing this to me. A few birds call to each other in the distance, and I close my eyes, trying to regain my strength. Emory is such an ass. He didn't even help me! What kind of alliance is that? I mean, we stick together until it gets the tiniest bit too much, and then we just split?

Vanny's body was taken a few hours ago, before I passed out. I remember her eyes, and how pained they looked, even though they were closed. It was like she was staring into my soul, blaming me for her death, for not saving her, for letting Emory kill her. But that wasn't even my fault! It was Jaze who got Emory mad in the first place! What was his deal, anyway? Why didn't he just let me kill that damn girl? It's not like she was important to us. She was just another tribute, another barrier in the way of victory. I'll do whatever it takes to make sure he doesn't win. And that girl, I'll kill her, too. I try to stand up again, and scream in anger at how hard all this is. If I see Emory, I'll kill him, too. I'll kill them all, every last one of them! They'll regret the day they ever messed me! My side pains me as I walk, but I press on faster, my eyes searching for the direction in which Jaze and those girls left in. Where the hell did they go? They couldn't have gotten that far! I mean, I wasn't unconscious for that long, was I? Maybe I was, and I just have lost track of time. Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I let out a sigh. _Keep yourself together, _Titus, I tell myself. _Remember your priorities._ But what are my priorities? Should I go after them, or stay here and keep myself alive? It doesn't matter either way, I figure, because I'm winning this thing one way or another. The trees are starting to become more dense, and it's starting to get dark, but I keep going. I can't stop, not now.

"Not funny, Jaze!" comes a voice from a few feet away, and I stop in my tracks. There's the sound of someone laughing, a girl's voice. My legs start to move faster, and I finally break through the trees and into a clearing, where a huge cliff shoots straight up. I look around, but I can't see anything due to the dark. The laughs can still be heard, but I can't see anyone. Where are those voices coming from?

"Guys, we have company," I hear, and I back away into the trees in an attempt to hide myself from their gaze. How did they see me? Where are they?

"Where did they go?" I hear a boy ask. It's Jaze. My features turn hard, cold, and I glance through the trees up at the cliff, but I still don't see anything. Holding my breath, I quietly move further into the trees. Something hard and cold presses against my neck, and I freeze. Is it Jaze? Did he find me? How could he have?

"Nice of you to lead me to my enemies, Titus," I hear behind me. It's Emory. My eyes widen, and I gasp in surprise. He wouldn't kill me, would he? Then again, he killed vanny, but she wasn't of any use to us, anyway. I decide to act brave, and lift up a hand to remove his knife from my neck.

"It's nice to see you again, Emory. Finally decide to join the action?" I reply, turning to face him. He's smirking, his eyebrows raised in an amused line.

"So I guess we're fighting for the same goal," he says. He extends his hand to me, and I take it in my own, giving it a hard shake.

"Welcome back to the careers," I say.

"And you, too," he replies. I grin. This is going to be a piece of cake.

**This is kind of a short chapter, and I apologize for that, but the next one will be longer, I promise. Please review!**


	28. Monster

**Sorry for the long wait you guys! I kind of lost my inspiration for while, but I'll try to get back on track. During winter break I'm going to try and update a bunch, so hopefully you won't be angry at me for taking so long to update. And if I ever take this long to update again, please, somebody yell at me. **

**Shayla's POV**

"_Where did they go?_" Jaze asks again, his voice rising. He stares out into the forest, his eyes scanning the trees. His hands clench and unclench at his sides, and he whips his head back to me, his eyes wild with anxiety of what is sure to come. I open my mouth to answer, but nothing comes out. His eyes dig tunnels into my own, and I can tell he's losing his patience with me, but the nervous, sick feeling in the pit of my stomach has me speechless.

"Shayla?" Everbloom asks, walking over to me. "Shayla, why won't you answer him?" I turn to her and shake my head to get a hold of myself. _Calm down,_ I order myself. _Everything's going to be fine._

"They backed into the trees," I force myself to say, and my throat suddenly feels very dry. I swallow and wipe my hands on my pants in an effort to calm my nerves. "I don't know where they are now." Jaze gives me an understanding look, and takes my hand, pulling me to the back of the cave, along with Everbloom.

"Keep your voices down," he whispers. "It's pretty dark out. Chances are they won't be able to find us, and if they do, we have the upper hand. We're the ones on top." I nod, and push the rest of my nerves away. He's right. We'll be safe up here. Everbloom nods, too, but her hands are shaking at her sides. I wrap an arm around her shoulders in comfort, and look up at Jaze.

"So what's the plan?" I ask quietly. "What happens if they find us?" Jaze frowns, and looks once again out into the dark forest below.

"We fight them," he replies simply, and my eyes travel to the knife I managed to grab from Titus' side before we fled. I release Everbloom and bend down to pick it up, the cold blade chilling my fingertips. Knives aren't really my kind of weapon, but it'll have to do. I slowly make my way to the edge of the cave and carefully look down, knowing I won't see anything, but still curious to look, anyway. My eyes scan the line of trees and the small clearing below our ledge, but nothing is there. I let out a sigh of relief. A sudden hand grabs my shoulder, pulling me back into the cave. I trip over myself and fall to the ground, my elbow hitting the ground hard. I bite my lip to keep from crying out, and turn to see Jaze standing above me. I shoot him a glare, but he's not looking at me. His attention is focused on the entrance of our cave, and I hear Everbloom hyperventilating at the back of the cave. I follow Jaze's gaze, and suddenly I see why he pulled me back. In the place where I had been standing, there's a fairly large rock, a message written in mud on its side, barely readable in the moonlight. Jaze walks forward and picks it up, holding it up to his eyes. His face goes pale, and he drops the rock. I watch it slowly roll away from him, and fall off the ledge, creating a thump in the grass down below.

"What did it say?" I ask, my voice threatening to break. "Tell me." Jaze turns to me, his arms dropping lamely to his sides.

"They know we're here," he says. "They're coming." My face pales, and Everbloom bursts into silent sobs, her whole body shaking. Jaze looks at her, a conflicted look gracing his features. He takes a step towards her, and then stops. Rolling my eyes, I place my hands on his back and shove him forward. He stumbles and falls to his knees I front of her, wincing from the impact. Everbloom looks up at him and blinks, clearly unsure what to think of Jaze falling down right in front of her. For a second, I'm sure he's going to just kneel there like an idiot until whoever is coming comes and kills us all, but then he leans forward and wraps her in a hug. Everbloom hiccups in surprise, and the blush that appears on her face can be seen even in the dark. Jaze releases her and quickly backs away a few feet, looking down at the ground.

"We're, uh, we're going to be okay," he says, and then he pushes himself to his feet, coming to stand beside me. He leans in close to my ear, his breath tickling my cheek. "Don't mention that, _ever_," I grin at him and open my mouth to tease him, but a voice behind me cuts me off.

"There you are," Emory says, his voice like breaking glass, echoing off the walls of the cave. I turn to face him, my heart beating fast.

"You'd better leave while you still have the chance," Jaze snarls, stepping towards him. Emory laughs, and Titus appears, reaching the ledge and climbing up to join Emory. Everbloom hurries to her feet and stands behind me. I reach for her hand, and squeeze it in comfort, trying to calm her down. Her hand is ice cold and shaking, but she manages a determined look and steps ahead of Jaze, who tries to push her back.

"So Everbloom has finally decided to join in the fight," Titus sneers, his lips forming a smirk. Everbloom glares at him, her arms clenching at her sides.

"You killed Aisling," she says, her voice low and menacing. "You killed her."

"Bloomie," I say, realizing at that moment what she's going to do. "Don't"

"_You killed her!"_ Everbloom screams, and then she throws herself at Titus, who's too surprised to defend himself. The both of them go flying off the cliff, Everbloom shrieking in anger. Emory follows their movement, shocked, and Jaze takes this time to wrench the knife from my grasp and lunge at him, stabbing him in the shoulder and ripping his flesh all the way down to his wrist. Emory yells in pain, and I try not to throw up at the contents of his arm flowing out of him. The gash is deep, and I can see veins sticking out through the blood. Jaze delivers a hard kick in between Emory's legs, and jumps back in victory, but Emory's not done yet. He whips his own knife from his belt and slashes at Jaze, managing to cut his cheek and shoulder before Jaze manages to hold up his own knife in protection. Though I want to help him, I know Everbloom's in trouble, so I hurry over to the ledge and look down. My heart flutters as I see Everbloom scratching at Titus, one of his eyes bleeding. That's my girl! Her fists connect with his body again and again, and her face is full of murder. Suddenly, Titus rolls out from under Everbloom, grabbing the rock that Jaze dropped earlier. He bashes it into her skull, and she slumps to the ground.

"No!" I scream, and jump off the cliff, landing on top of Titus's shoulders. We both fall to the ground, and I can feel my ankle break as it folds underneath us. I bite my lip and wrestle the rock out of his hand, throwing it away to the side of us. I grab his arm and bend it up towards me, far further than it should go. His shoulder makes a popping sound as it's pulled out of its socket, and he screams. I do the same to the other one, and then get off of him, leaving him to lie there in the mud. I know I should kill him, but Jaze took my knife, and I'm not too thrilled about the idea of ending his life with my bare hands. My ankle throbs in pain, but I force myself to my feet and hurry over to Everbloom. Her head is bleeding, a pool of blood surrounding her, but she's still breathing. I collapse to me knees in relief, and glance over at Titus. He's still lying there pathetically, his arms bent at odd angles at his sides. He's moaning and trying to get to his feet, but failing miserably. He looks up at me and shoots me a look full of hatred, and I crawl over to him.

"Get the hell away from me!" he snarls, and I smirk.

"And what are you going to do to me if I don't?" I ask. "You can't even use your arms." I grab him around the waist and roll him over, my eyes scanning his body for a weapon. I find a knife tucked into his belt, and take it. "Oh, thank you so much! You really shouldn't have!" I bring the knife down on his neck, tearing it through the muscle. "You really, _really_ shouldn't have." He gasps once and then dies, right there in front of me. I hear a thump, and turn to see Jaze laying on his back on the ground, gasping for breath as the wind is knocked out of him. Emory jumps from the ledge, falling right towards him, but Jaze kicks him away. Emory rolls over onto his stomach, and coughs up blood. A whole chunk of skin from his arm is missing, along with an ear. There's a huge gash across his lips, and he's panting hard. With a soft groan, he pushes himself to his feet and runs away into the woods, not even bothering to look back. I stumble over to Jaze and pick his head up, bringing it up onto my lap.

"Everbloom…" he mutters, and I glance back at her.

"She's fine," I say. "Just a head wound, and those always bleed a lot. I think she's okay. What about you? Where are you hurt?" He holds up his hand, which is covered in blood. The tip of his middle finger is missing, but just the very tip.

"This hurts like hell," he says. He takes a deep breath and sits up, gasping in pain. "And I think I broke a rib or two."

"My ankle is broken," I say. "But otherwise I'm pretty okay." A soft moan comes from where Everbloom lies, and I crawl over to her. She's rubbing her head with her hand, her blond hari becoming sticky with her own blood.

"My head," he moans. Her eyes look up to find me kneeling above her, and she sighs in relief. "Oh my god, you're okay!" She pulls me down and gives me a huge hug, but then pulls away quickly. "This headache sucks."

"You saved us, Bloomie," I say. "If you'd never jumped Titus like that, we wouldn't have had nearly as much luck." Everbloom gets a hard look to her eyes.

"Is he dead?" she whispers. I nod.

"I killed him," I say, and then I start to shake. I actually killed another human being. I murdered him. Am I just as bad as everyone else? Have I become a monster? A hand gently touches me shoulder, and I jump, startled, but it's only Jaze.

"Jaze!" Everbloom shouts, sitting up with a smile. "I'm so glad you're okay, too!" She leans forward, her arms open for a hug, but then blinks and pulls back, blushing furiously. I roll my eyes at her and give her another hug, and then I pull Jaze in to join us, and we sit there like that, hugging, relieved that we're all okay. The wind pulls at my dark brown hair, tangling it with Everbloom's. I'm not even bothered by all of the blood. Jaze eventually pulls away, standing up and offering me his hand.

"We should move so that the hovercraft can take away his body," he says, glancing over at Titus. "Jeez, Shayla, what did you do to him?" I let out a small, choked sound, and take his hand, refusing to answer. I look over at Titus as Jaze pulls me to my feet, my ankle screaming in protest. Now that I think about it, what I did to Titus was cruel. It wasn't needed, and I can't help but think of the monster I've become. I choke back tears and start to walk back to the cliff, but Jaze holds me back.

"Let me go!" I say, not wanting him to see me cry. A stray tear rolls down me cheek, and I brush it away.

"Shayla, we can't go back to the cave, not now that Emory knows about it," Jaze says softly, and I realize that he's right. Everbloom groans and gets to her feet.

"Great, more walking," she mutters, and I give her a small smile, wrapping my arm once again around her shoulders.

"Don't worry, I'll help you out," I say. "That's what best friends are for, right?" Everbloom smiles at me, and places and an arm around my waist. Her other arm goes around Jaze's shoulders. She lurches forward, dragging me and Jaze with her. I stumble, and my ankle hurts, but I keep walking.

"Come on, guys!" Everbloom says. "We've got a sanctuary to find!" I laugh, and Jaze gives a small smile. I don't ever want this to end, the three of us together, but only one person can win this game, and I'm going to make sure it's Everbloom

**I know this is only one POV, but I don't have a lot of time to write, and I really wanted to give you guys another chapter, so it's just this. The next one will have three POV's to make up for this one, I pinky promise. Please review and let me know what you think about this chapter. Does the whole battle scene seem realistic, of is it over done?**


	29. Peace At Last

**I'm back! And my writer's block is finally gone! ^_^ And, since I haven't updated in a while, I decided to type this up for you guys. So, enjoy!**

**Gemma's POV**

I'm shaking. It started when I watched Emory kill Vanny, and it's been going on ever since. The pile of leaves that lay in front of me is dry, unburned. I'm so hopeless! I kick at the pile of leaves at my feet. I can't even start a fire! My head falls to my knees, and I try not to cry. If only I hadn't dropped my backpack on the way here. I could have food, water, matches, my needles. Everything I had is gone, and it's all because of my fears of this game, and of Emory. I'll _never_ get sponsors like this. It's a wonder I'm still alive at all. The people in my district must hate me. I'm no use to them. I'm a disgrace to district two. I wouldn't be surprised if they _wanted_ me to die. My death will mean nothing to them, anyway. Emory will win, and not a single person will mourn me, maybe not even my parents. No, they will mourn me, right? They care about me. They love me. Right? My throat tightens, and I stare down at my feet bitterly. The tears aren't far away now.

A bird calls somewhere near-by, and a flash of color jumps from the branch of a tree above my head, making me jump. I hate it here! I just want to go home, and sleep in my warm bed, knowing my parents are near-by if I need them. Why do I have to be a career? I'm only thirteen! The tears start to fall now, and I push myself to my feet, starting to walk. With my luck, all the cameras will be showing me, crying my eyes out like a baby.

"No," I mutter. "Oh, god, why is this happening to me?"

"Now _that_ is a question I'd love to have answered," says a voice to my left. I scream, my gaze shooting to the trees, my cheeks wet with my tears. This is it, then; I'm going to die. I can't seem to find the words I need to say, can't bring myself to fight, run, _anything_. "You need to be quiet, Gemma!" A hand shoots out from some bushes, grabbing my leg and yanking me to the ground. I'm pulled into the cover of the leaves, and through my tears I see Kiwi, a frown on her face.

"Kiwi," I say, wrapping her in a hug. "Thank god you're alright!" She pushes me away.

"I can take care of myself," she mutters. "It's _you_ I'm worried about." Kiwi hands me a knife and some bread from her backpack. I just stare at her.

I thought the alliance was off," I say quietly. "I mean, with Emory killing Vanny and all…" Her eyes harden.

"I'm going to kill him for that," she says seriously, her eyes narrowing. "It was only a matter of time, anyway. I have to win." The bread drops to the ground as I quickly get up, stepping out of the bushes. "Gemma?" I hold the knife up in front of me as she emerges as well, shock clear on her face.

"I won't let you kill me," I whisper, wiping my eyes. Kiwi holds her hands up in front of her.

"Gemma, I didn't mean it like that," she says. My mouth opens, but before I can speak, a knife shoots past my ear and into a tree. Kiwi's eyes widen, and she sprints away into the forest, leaving me to fend for myself. My heart picks up speed, my breath coming out in gasps. No. Please, no. A boy emerges from behind a tree, tackling me to the ground. Without thinking, I stab my knife deep into his shoulder, causing him to gasp. He grabs the hand holding the knife, snapping my wrist. I scream, kicking at him with my legs, but he's too strong.

"Kiwi!" I shriek, begging her to come back. "_Kiwi!_" The boy jams his elbow into my mouth, cutting off my desperate screams. I resist the urge to cry, knowing that I won't be able to see through the tears. Please, someone help me! I don't want to die!

"The more you struggle, the more you'll suffer," the boy hisses in my ear. "Behave." '_Never,' _I think, but I don't move. "Gemma Barnes." My eyes widen as he whispers my name, shivers shooting down my spine. Why has he taken the time to learn my name? Is it because I'm a career? What does he want" I bite down on his elbow as hard as I can, tasting dirt, sweat, and now blood. "Bitch." He removes his elbow and slaps my in the face, hard. Tears well in my eyes as my cheek stings.

"What do you want with me?" I scream. It's a stupid question. Obviously, he wants to kill me.

"You haven't seen the girl from five, have you?" he asks, and my eyes widen once again before narrowing slightly.

"Why do you want to know?" He slaps me again.

"Just answer the damn question!"

"I've seen her," I say, and I feel him smile against my shoulder.

"Great. Do you know where she is now?" I frown.

"No," I reply. "Her and her friends ran away into the woods." The boy sighs, and moves into a kneeling position above him. I can finally see his face, and I recognize him immediately. It's Kesar.

"You're really no help, you know that?" he says. My lip quivers a bit, and I meet his eyes, pleading with him to let me live. I don't want to die like this, laying on the ground at the mercy of this boy. I don't want my family and friends to have to watch my final moments, so far away, unable to comfort me. Then again, maybe this is better. It will be quick, painless, and I'll finally be free.

"Kesar," I whisper. My throat is tight, my words strangled. His expression remains impassive as he gazes at me. "Make it quick, okay?" I let my body relax, knowing that this really is the end, after all. There's no way I could fight him off. He's too strong, and even if I somehow managed to get to my feet and run, he would just catch me again. Something flashes in his eyes for a second. Guilt, perhaps? Or maybe it was understanding. I'll never know. Slowly, Kesar nods and raises his sword, positioning it above my heart. My gaze travels the length of the metal, finally resting on his face. I won't close my eyes, but I won't watch the blade sliding in, either. He sees me watching him, and swallows.

"I-I can't kill you with you looking at me like that," he says. I stare at him a minute longer before letting my eyes close, my hands clenching into fists. My whole body is shaking again, and I'm suddenly cold. I already feel dead. "I'm sorry."

"Better you than someone else," I whisper. "If you win, tell my family and friends that I love them. I love them so much."

"I-"he chokes out. "I promise." I feel myself smiling.

"Thank you." Everything is silent now, but instead of feeling fear, I feel strangely peaceful. This is the best way to die, everything said, painless. The blade slides into my chest, piercing my heart, but I barely feel it. It's like a slight pull, a soft feather sliding through my ribcage. Everything goes permanently black. I feel like I'm floating, as light as air.

Peace.

Peace at last.

**I know I promised to have three POV's this chapter, but I have limited time. I'm actually kind of banned from the computer. I can only use it for homework, so this is the "homework" I'm doing. If I stay on too long, my mom will get suspicious. So, for now, it's just one POV per chapter, but I'll start up again with two POV's a chapter again soon. Please review and let me know how I did on this chapter.**


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